Ford Plans to Introduce More Fuel-Efficient Engine in 2009

(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S.-based automaker, plans to introduce a new, more fuel- efficient engine as the company tries to halt a sales slide in its home market.

Ford says the EcoBoost engine can improve mileage by as much as 20 percent. The new engine uses turbocharging, which forces air through it. The company says the EcoBoost engine can be smaller and lighter without sacrificing power.

``Customers do want better fuel economy,'' Derrick Kuzak, Ford's product-development chief, told reporters during a Dec. 11 briefing at a company facility in Dearborn, Michigan. ``We need to do it to gain share and volume.''

Ford, which is also based in Dearborn, was passed by Toyota Motor Corp. in 2007 for the No. 2 spot in U.S. sales. Ford had held the position since 1931 and hasn't been third or smaller in U.S. sales since 1905. The company has had 12 consecutive years of declining U.S. market share.

 

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