Who makes the Chevy Cruze engine?
The engines in the Chevy Cruze are built by General Motors (GM) itself, using its Ecotec family of engines. Across markets, GM designs and manufactures these powerplants at its global powertrain facilities.
Over the Cruze’s production life, GM offered several engine options tailored to region and model year—most notably a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated engine, a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, and, in European markets, a 2.0-liter diesel. These are GM designs that have been produced in GM’s own plants around the world, reflecting GM’s practice of global engine sharing and regional tuning.
Engine variants used in the Cruze
Here are the main engine configurations that powered different Cruze models, depending on year and market.
- 1.8-liter Ecotec inline-4 (gasoline) — A naturally aspirated engine used in earlier Cruze models in North America; part of GM’s Ecotec family and produced at GM powertrain facilities.
- 1.4-liter turbo Ecotec inline-4 — Turbocharged gasoline engine that became common across many Cruze trims from the early 2010s onward; developed within GM’s global engine program and manufactured at GM powertrain sites worldwide.
- 2.0-liter CDTI diesel — Turbocharged diesel used in European Cruze models; derived from GM/Opel/Vauxhall diesel technology and produced in GM’s European plants.
These variants illustrate GM’s approach of offering a shared engine family across regions while adapting displacement and tuning to local emissions, fuel, and performance needs.
Where the engines come from and who designs them
The engines powering the Chevy Cruze are GM designs developed by General Motors’ global engineering teams. The Ecotec engine family underpins many GM compact cars, and depending on the market, the engines are built at GM powertrain facilities around the world. European variants often reflect collaboration with Opel/Vauxhall engineering groups, especially for diesel formulations.
In practice, this means GM engineers design and validate the engines, while production happens in GM-owned or closely partnered powertrain plants across North America and Europe, enabling a standardized yet regionally tuned powerplant lineup for the Cruze.
Bottom line
GM makes the Cruze’s engines. They come from GM’s Ecotec family, with different displacements and configurations chosen to fit market requirements, and are produced in GM powertrain facilities worldwide. The exact engine you find under the Cruze hood depends on the model year and region, but all are GM designs intended to deliver a balance of efficiency and performance.
Summary
The Chevrolet Cruze is powered by GM-built engines drawn from the Ecotec family. Across markets, GM designed and manufactured these engines—ranging from the 1.8L naturally aspirated and the 1.4L turbo in the Americas to the 2.0L diesel in Europe—through its global powertrain network, reflecting GM’s emphasis on engine sharing and regional customization.
