The accompanying chart illustrates the gradual but undeniable trend toward more and more four-cylinder engines in the cars and light trucks Americans are buying. The chart also shows this trend has accelerated in the past two years.
Notes: 2Q 2010 includes April only; powertrains other than 4, 6 and 8-cylinders not included in calculations
In 2007 vehicles powered by six-cylinder engines still accounted for more than 40% of the retail U.S. new vehicle market, even though their mix was easing slightly. However, starting in the second quarter of 2008, which not coincidentally was when gas prices temporarily spiked to more than $4 a gallon, we have witnessed a more dramatic move towards the smaller engines and away from six- and eight-cylinder powertrains. This past April, the only month in the second quarter for which we have new vehicle registrations, the four-cylinder mix approached 50%, compared to a little over a third in the second quarter of 2006. Six-cylinder and eight-cylinder installation rates have both plummeted six points since 2006, with the eight-cylinder proportion now only about a sixth of the market.
As OEMs launch more and more four-cylinder (or smaller) powered vehicles to meet stringent mid-decade CAFÉ requirements, it is inevitable that the four-cylinder mix will rise even more. It also seems like a legitimate question to ask whether or not, in the long run, the eight-cylinder configuration will even survive in the U.S. automotive market.
Posted by Tom Libby, PolkInsight Advisor, Polk (07.02.2010)
Notes: 2Q 2010 includes April only; powertrains other than 4, 6 and 8-cylinders not included in calculations
In 2007 vehicles powered by six-cylinder engines still accounted for more than 40% of the retail U.S. new vehicle market, even though their mix was easing slightly. However, starting in the second quarter of 2008, which not coincidentally was when gas prices temporarily spiked to more than $4 a gallon, we have witnessed a more dramatic move towards the smaller engines and away from six- and eight-cylinder powertrains. This past April, the only month in the second quarter for which we have new vehicle registrations, the four-cylinder mix approached 50%, compared to a little over a third in the second quarter of 2006. Six-cylinder and eight-cylinder installation rates have both plummeted six points since 2006, with the eight-cylinder proportion now only about a sixth of the market.
As OEMs launch more and more four-cylinder (or smaller) powered vehicles to meet stringent mid-decade CAFÉ requirements, it is inevitable that the four-cylinder mix will rise even more. It also seems like a legitimate question to ask whether or not, in the long run, the eight-cylinder configuration will even survive in the U.S. automotive market.
Posted by Tom Libby, PolkInsight Advisor, Polk (07.02.2010)
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