Apparently, the 1.0 TSI three-cylinder engines will continue to sputter under the hoods of Volkswagen Group cars in what is yet another revision of the German brand’s industrial strategy.
THE U-TURN ON THE THREE-CYLINDER ENGINE
Indeed, once considered doomed due to EU environmental regulations that seemed to have pushed Wolfsburg to focus exclusively on 1.5 or 2.0-liter units, the recent economic challenges faced by the German company, but most likely also the recent green policy reconsiderations in Brussels, appear to have granted further longevity to the three-cylinder engine.
WHAT FUTURE FOR THE POWERTRAIN?
The company itself has stated this, with Stefan Voswinkel, Volkswagen’s product communication manager, declaring: “The initial drafts of the new EU7 regulation featured very strict rules, and therefore we had decided to stop the development of the 1.0-liter three-cylinder TSI engine. With the final version of the EU7 regulation, we are instead evaluating the possibility of using this engine in smaller-sized vehicles (such as the Polo or the T-Cross) for certain European markets.”
THE ENGINE FOR THE GROUP’S COMPACT CARS
The powertrain currently found under the hoods of models like the VW Polo and T-Cross, Seat Ibiza and Arona, Škoda Fabia and Kamiq will therefore still be mounted on the Group’s compact cars. This is yet another proof not only of the unexpected vitality of internal combustion engines but also of the direct consequences of the European regulatory easing on manufacturers’ corporate decisions.
With electric cars facing a greater number of uncertainties about their future and hybrid solutions multiplying in the various brands’ lineups, the era of internal combustion engines seems anything but over.
