General Motors has added a three-cylinder diesel to its new family of global modular gasoline and diesel engines.
The new 1.5-liter unit debuted in Europe late last year on compact models from former GM subsidiary Opel/Vauxhall. PSA Group bought Opel/Vauxhall from GM in 2017, but some Opel/Vauxhall models still use GM platforms and powertrains.
The 1.5-liter diesel offers 105 hp and 122 hp, down from 136 hp in the 1-6-liter four-cylinder unit it replaced.
Emissions were reduced by about 20 percent, with the most economical 105-hp variant rated at 90 grams per kilometer of CO2 under the NEDC homologation cycle, according to a report lead by former GM engineer Roberto Golisano that was presented at the annual Vienna Motor Symposium.
GM’s new 3-cylinder diesel slashes Opel Astra's CO2
The Astra ranked ninth in European sales last year in the mainstream compact segment. The current model is shown.
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In February, GM sold its Turin-based Propulsion Engineering center to Punch Group of Belgium. Renamed Punch Torino, the center will continue to offer engineering services to support GM’s global product programs through the end of 2021.
GM decided that a 0.5-liter cylinder displacement was the ideal size to optimize the combustion process. Automakers such as BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo has also recently launched new modular gasoline and diesel engine families with a 500 cc cylinder displacement.
The high modularity of GM’s new engine family -- 40 percent of parts are shared between two diesel engines and another 44 percent have similar designs -- reduced production costs by 3 percent, Golisano said.
