Inside the Peugeot 1.6 liter engine made in Michigan (PureTech EP6)

by David Zatz with thanks to Polo. Updated 9/3/25.

A French engine for American cars is being built in Dundee, Michigan for the Jeep Cherokee and, most likely, other cars.

The power rating in the Jeep Cherokee, the first vehicle in North America to use it, is 177 hp @ 5,500 rpm and 221 lb-ft from 2,000 to 3,500 rpm. It is, however, only sold with electric motors which push power to 210 hp and 230 lb-ft of torque. It uses a twin-scroll turbocharger and direct injection; to get its admirable fuel economy, the Cherokee version uses the Miller cycle.

The transmission, in the Cherokee at least, is a hybrid-electric eCVT system with built-in motors; it does not use bands, but has a planetary gearset. Rumors had a setup made by Punch Powertrain (a former DAF group), owned by China’s Yinyi, above.

The basic Peugeot EP6 design dates to 2003, but major changes in the second generation, released in 2023, included a timing chain which solved the biggest problem, breaking timing belts. The new PureTech label distances it from earlier, less reliable versions. The French EP6CDTX variant produces 201 hp and 203 lb-ft of torque, with hybrid versions producing a total 296 and 360 horsepower including the motors; the American version is set up for economy first. The European version is made in Hungary, to the tune of 200,000 engines per year. The first generation Peugeot EP6 engines were made in Douvrin.

References: Largus, Diplomacy & Trade, Stellantis, Crunchbase.

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