DaimlerChrysler, Mitsubishi, Hyundai join to make new generation engines

DUNDEE, Mich. Dec 17, 2004; The AP reported that DaimlerChrysler AG, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (news - web sites) and Hyundai Motor Co. are reportedly co-operating on the design and building of a new generation of four-cylinder engines.

DaimlerChrysler will make its versions at a $700 million US plant in Monroe County, southwest of Detroit, according to reports Friday in The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press.

Shared engineering and manufacturing will help the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance develop more sophisticated engines while boosting fuel economy, said Eric Ridenour, head of engineering for DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit.

"We'll be able to bring premium technology to entry-level vehicles," he told The Detroit News on Thursday.

At first, the plant will be able to produce 420,000 engines annually. That will double when construction ends in September 2006.

It is part of what the automakers call a "world engine" project, which will yield two million engines a year from five plants in South Korea (news - web sites), Japan and Michigan.

The three companies developed a new family of 1.8-, 2-and 2.4-litre double overhead cam engines. About 12 DaimlerChrysler, eight Hyundai and Mitsubishi vehicles will use the engines, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The engines will replace four-cylinder power plants DaimlerChrysler now builds in Trenton, Mich., and Saltillo, Mexico. DaimlerChrysler will produce other engines in those plants to make up for the lost business, Ridenour said.