Turbocharged Vehicle Sales to Hit 49M Annually by 2019: Report

Turbocharged vehicles are no longer associated with just high-performance models, and that is driving sales numbers up.

According to the Global Turbo Forecast by Honeywell Turbo Technologies, 49-million turbocharged vehicles will be sold annually by 2019, generating $12 billion in revenue. Automakers are continuing to embrace turbochargers not just for performance, but to help enhance fuel efficiency while meeting global environmental emissions regulations.

Turbochargers have helped downsized engines improve fuel economy by as much as 20 to 40 percent in gas and diesel form, respectively, while maintaining the same or better level of performance as a naturally aspirated engine that’s larger in displacement and has more cylinders.

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Leading the growth is the world’s fastest-growing automotive market, China. The country is expected to increase its turbocharger use from 23 percent in 2014 to 41 percent in 2019, doubling the number of turbocharged vehicles sold annually to over 13 million. North America’s turbo market won’t be lagging far behind growing 14 percent per year in the next five years to over 8-million turbocharged vehicles by 2019, comprising of 38 percent of the market.

“Continued pressure to improve the driver experience and meet future industry requirements is spurring the positive trend seen in this year’s forecast, which include double-digit growth in both North America and China,” said Honeywell Transportation Systems president and CEO Terrence Hahn. “We expect the industry to produce more than 200 million new turbo-equipped vehicles during the next five years, driving continued demand for well-designed, boosted engines that reduce fuel consumption and improve vehicle performance.”

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