Nissan to make 3-cyl, 1-litre engine in Brazil

During his recent visit to Nissan Brazil's headquarters in downtown Rio, Carlos Ghosn, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Co, announced that a new and modern 3-cylinder, 1-litre engine will be made at its powertrain plant located at its Resende Industrial Complex in Rio de Janeiro State. The new engine will require a R$100 million investment.

The new 3-cylinder, 1-litre engine will share the assembly line with the 1.6-litre engine, which has been produced since Nissan started operations at its Resende Industrial Complex in April 2014. More than 25 professionals have been hired to assemble the new engine, thus enhancing the powertrain unit's headcount of approximately 200 people.

"The production of a new 3-cylinder engine in Brazil demonstrates that Nissan is determined to boost its presence in the domestic market, with modern, innovative products made locally. Therefore, we increased the local content ratio of our products in order to further competitiveness," said Ghosn.

The 3-cylinder, 1-litre engine delivers 76 horsepower and 98 Nm of torque both on gas or ethanol. It will equip the new car (Nissan New Versa Sedan) that will start to be manufactured at the Resende industrial plant. The model will share the assembly line with the New March and the March Active. With an aluminium block, four valves per cylinder and high-end technological features, Nissan's new engine has one of the best energy efficiency in Brazil with high performance and low CO2 emissions.

Located at Nissan's Industrial Complex in the Southern Rio de Janeiro State, the Resende Powertrain Plant has a production capacity of 200,000 engines a year and follows strong guiding principles aimed at sustainable production. For example, the assembly line has cutting-edge electrical equipment to improve operators' well being while avoiding oil leaks, thus protecting the environment. 

Making high-precision equipment requires stringent quality control and as a result, the assembly line has four portals where component quality is checked. All engines undergo a final operation test, as well as a CO2 emission test.

The local production of engines is part of a comprehensive hub project adopted at Nissan's Industrial Complex in Resende. Totaling investments of R$2.6 billion (US$1.5 billion), operations at the Brazilian Industrial Complex range from a stamping shop to test tracks and includes a body shop, paint shop, plastic injection molding and paint shop, assembly shop, a powertrain plant, and quality inspection.

The Nissan Resende complex produces Nissan's ‘Platform V’ vehicles and engines. The facility employs about 1,500 people and has total capacity to produce 200,000 vehicles and 200,000 engines per year.