Honeywell Says United States Is An "Emerging Market" For Turbochargers
While forced induction has long been in favor in the rest of the world, Americans have often favored big displacement motors, but recent trends towards fuel economy have necessitated a shift to smaller motors, and turbocharging is considered the optimal way to stretch 4-cylinders into feeling like 6.
Honeywell, one of the largest manufacturers of turbochargers, is forecasting use of turbochargers to double in time for strict new fuel economy regulations that are set to take effect in 2015. Honeywell expects 20 percent of engines to use turbochargers by then, up from 9 percent in 2010. However that number lags behind Europe’s 67 percent figure and 28 percent in India.
While turbochargers previously carried negative connotations in the United States, the need for more power and efficiency has led them out of a small performance niche and into the mainstream. Ford expects 90 percent of its lineup to offer a turbocharged Ecoboost motor by 2013, and Chevrolet’s Cruze Eco, one of its heavily promoted “green” cars, uses a small turbocharged engine to deliver 40 mpg.
[Source: Bloomberg]
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