FAW developing 5 engines for own brands

China FAW Group Corp. will debut at least five new engines for passenger vehicles next year, including two diesels for sedans, a source from FAW says.
    
"The engines are now under testing and will probably show up in April in the Beijing auto show," the source says.
    
The source says FAW developed the new engines, which will be mounted in FAW’s own brand of passenger vehicles in the coming years.
    
A major automaker in China, FAW Group has joint ventures to produce passenger cars with Toyota and Volkswagen. It also makes Mazda cars under technical cooperation.
    
FAW produces its own brands -- Xiali, in Tianjin, and a small volume of Hongqi, also called Red Flag, in Changchun.
    
FAW is one of many domestic automakers boosting production of its own brands. The company plans to build a full line of mid-sized, large and luxury sedans in the coming years under the Hongqi brand.
    
The new engines are important because FAW now produces only small engines.
    
The source says the two diesel engines are 1.5 and 2.0 liters in displacement. The three others are gasoline: a small engine of 1.6 liters, a V-12 of 6.0 liters and a V-6 that may be available in 2.6, 2.8 or 3.0 liters.
    
The source says the V-12 gasoline engine will be fitted to the limited Hongqi HQE model that debuted at the 2005 Shanghai auto show. The source says the model, also called the HQD, will be used as a state limousine.
    
But the source says the engines will not contain gasoline direct injection because FAW will probably not be able to use it in production vehicles until 2012 to 2015.
    
Earlier this year, FAW announced that it had successfully developed gasoline direct injection technology.
    
In a separate engine development, the source also says FAW will begin producing three new gasoline engines in its Tianjin engine plant in early 2008. Construction of the new production lines started in September.
    
He says the three engines will be available in 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5 liters. The engines will be used in inexpensive vehicles produced by a subsidiary of FAW, Tianjin FAW Xiali Automobile Co., in Tianjin.
    
Tianjin FAW’s engine plant, with an annual capacity of 150,000, is making three engines with displacement of 1.0, 1.4 and 1.6 liters.
    
"Annual output capacity of the Tianjin engine plant is expected to reach 400,000 in 2010," says the source.
    
Some of Tianjin FAW’s cars still carry engines from Toyota.
    
The source says nearly all of the components of the engines are sourced in China.
    
He says FAW has about 300 engineers in its engine department in Changchun and about 40 engineers in Tianjin’s engine plant. He adds that the group develops engines mainly on its own now.