Volkswagen will replace the current 1.4 TSI and 1.6 TDI engines with 1.5 engines in 2017

Volkswagen, on the occasion of the Detroit Motor Show that took place just a couple of weeks ago, has announced several novelties for the coming months.

And it is that, in addition to new models, the German giant has decided to develop a new family of engines, capable of successfully replacing the current 1.4 TSI and 1.6 TDI.

It seems that the emissions scandal surrounding the engines of the Volkswagen Group has calmed down somewhat. However, the aftershocks of this serious case of environmental negligence have not yet ended. Just to mention one example, the American authorities do not appear to be satisfied with their demands, as the repairs proposed by VW for the affected engines have not been accepted.

In any case, it is clear that the German giant has not stood still, and it seems to be working on a replacement for some of the engines supposedly most “affected” by this problem. It is not, however, a development motivated solely and exclusively by this case, since Volkswagen already had the development of new engines among its plans.

Currently, two of the most popular engines within the Volkswagen Group, especially if we talk about “down-to-earth” models, are the 1.6 TDI and 1.4 TSI. These are two engines that have been fitted to numerous models, bodies and platforms from practically any brand in the group, if we exclude Bentley, Lamborghini or Bugatti.

1.4 TSI EA111 engine

However, despite being in production today, despite offering numerous power levels, and despite being continuously updated with new technical innovations -there is a variant of the 1.4 TSI with cylinder deactivation-, ultimately the powertrain needs to be completely renewed.

That is why Volkswagen has already been working for some time on the successors to these two very popular engines. It seems the manufacturer will join the trend of modular construction, since both engines will be 1.5-litre, and possibly share components. Paradoxically, according to Volkswagen, these engines will be more expensive to manufacture -and therefore to sell-, but will make up for it with better consumption, emissions and performance figures.

As with the current engines, belonging in the case of diesel to the EA 189 family, and in the case of petrol to the EA 111 family, they will be fitted to a large majority of the German consortium’s products, whether the Volkswagen brand itself, its Spanish subsidiary SEAT, its Czech brand Skoda, or the premium variant, Audi. These engines are expected to be presented at the end of this year, and to begin to be fitted from early 2016.

Source | Volkswagen