Production of 1.6-litre petrol engines will start on February 8 and the plant will start turning out 1.6-litre diesel motors ten days later, plant director Tamás Solti told the paper. Production of a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engines could start at the plant in about a year, he added. Last year, the base produced 293,000 engines, up from 222,600 in 2011. This year, it is expected to turn out 336,000. Opel inaugurated the new plant in Szentgotthárd in September.