Skoda To Lead Development Of All EA211 Series Engines Globally

Škoda will develop all EA 211 series internal combustion engines for the entire Volkswagen group. So far, the Czech carmaker has mainly developed naturally aspirated MPI engines of this series, but now it will also take responsibility for the development of TSI units.

The new responsibility builds on Škoda’s previous roles in the development area of MPI engines as well as other tasks that Škoda carries out in the context of VW Group. For example, the Czech carmaker is already responsible for the development of the MQB A0 Global platform, which can use the EA 211 engines globally, and most importantly in India.  Skoda also develops drum brakes for the entire group. 

Developing the EA 211 engine series will boost the brand and create new jobs from Skoda's end. Skoda will be hiring almost hundred and fifty new skilled workers for its Technical Development department already. 

Škoda’s engine development tradition in Mladá Boleslav stretches back to 1899 when Václav Laurin and Václav Klement built their first bicycle fitted with an auxiliary engine.  In 1905 also, Laurin & Klement presented its first car, the Voiturette A, which was powered by a 1.1-litre liquid-cooled engine developed in-house.

In fact, with a few exceptions, the Czech carmaker used its own power units almost exclusively until it joined the Volkswagen Group. When the merger happened in 1991, it did not put an end to the engine-making tradition in Mladá Boleslav, although engines developed by other group brands did start to appear under the bonnets of Skoda cars. 

Skoda continued and in 1997 saw the start of production of the 1.0 MPI engine in Mladá Boleslav, which the brand also supplied to other car companies in the group. The legendary 1.2 HTP unit of the EA 111 series, the predecessor of the current EA 211 series, was also developed in-house. 

In almost 15 years of production, this three-cylinder engine has found its way into more than 3.5 million vehicles from all of the Group’s “volume” brands.

1.2 HTP engines delivering various power outputs were not used only in Škoda's Fabia and Roomster models, but in other Volkswagen Group models like the VW Polo and Seat Ibiza which were made or exported globally.

Production of the EA 211 engine series began in Mladá Boleslav in 2012 with the new 1.0 MPI type motor. Shortly afterwards, Škoda was put in charge of the complete development of MPI power units for the entire group. 

Skoda has always been in the game. Hence Škoda opened a brand new engine centre, which gave it the necessary capacity to do so. This included the brand getting high-end technology to take responsibility for an entire engine series to be built by Skoda. 

Gradually starting to take charge of developing the future TSI engines of the EA 211 series in addition to the MPI units, Skoda is planning to do more. 

Today the EA 211 model range comprises of three or four-cylinder units, ranging in size from 1.0 to 1.6 litres, and produce something from 64 bhp all the way to 154 bhp. The engines can burn petrol, CNG or ethanol and are also available in mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions.

The popular three-cylinder 1.0 TSI or the four-cylinder 1.4 TSI (for plug-in hybrids) and 1.5 TSI are examples of this range. The engines will be made, refined and updated by Skoda henceforth too with inputs from the group. 

The MPI units are naturally aspirated engines with indirect multipoint fuel injection. A typical representative of this range is the 1.0 MPI unit used by the brand in its smallest and most affordable models. The TSI engines, by contrast, feature an exhaust pressure wave supercharger. A technical aspect that differentiates both engines.