Four-Cylinder Engines On High Demand In U.S.
The record gasoline price of $ 4 per gallon has not only shifted the consumers’ demand from pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles to cars but, also from six-cylinder models to four-cylinder models. The demand for four-cylinder engines is at its highest since the energy crisis of the early 1980s and many automakers simply don’t have the capacity to keep up with the demand.
A wild swing towards four-cylinder engines that has been caused by high gasoline prices ultimately made most of the automakers including Detroit Big 3 suffer badly in the June U.S. auto sales. A shortage of four-cylinder engines cost General Motors Corp. 10,000 sales last month, says GM sales chief, Mark LaNeve.
According to a report of the Power Information Network, more than half of all new cars and trucks purchased in June had four-cylinder engines. But, the scene was different a year ago, when barely
one- third of new-vehicle buyers chose four-cylinders.
GM saw dramatic increases in four-cylinder sales in two of its most popular mid-size models, the Pontiac G6 and Chevrolet Malibu, when comparing 2006 statistics to numbers through May of this year.
As a result of the demand swing, most of the automakers are shifting their production away from six-cylinder models to four-cylinder models.
According to Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co.’s group vice president of marketing and communications, the availability of a four-cylinder engine is at least as important as the size of the vehicle for consumers. He further said, “You have dealers screaming for any type of four-cylinder product from us. We have adjusted our plants to do everything we can to supply them.”
During this time last year, Ford only saw a 57 percent take rate on its four-cylinder Fusion. This year, that number has climbed to 70 percent.
The Detroit Big 3 weren’t the only automakers to be caught off guard by the dramatic consumer shift. Toyota, Hyundai, Honda and Nissan are all scrambling to boost four-cylinder engine production, with many looking to production facilities in other parts of the world or opening complete new factories to keep up with rising demand.
Four-cylinder engine purchases dropped on Toyota’s Camry from 75 percent in 2006 to 67 percent through May 2007. This was mainly because, the company added a hybrid gasoline-electric version in the 2007 model year. But, recently the automaker has also experienced a similar shift to four-cylinder engines like other automakers. The consumers have developed a clear preference for Toyota’s four-cylinder version of Camry, Corolla, Sedan and Matrix five-door hatchback.
Honda will open a factory in Alliston, Ontario, with an annual production capacity of 200,000
four-cylinder engines, in a vision to meet the consumers’ demand. Moreover, the automaker has already been manufacturing more four-cylinder engines as compared to six-cylinder engines at its engine plant in Anna, Ohio.
Similarly, Hyundai Motor Co. has begun production of 2.4- liter four-cylinder engines at a new factory in Montgomery, Alabama. The plant will produce 200,000 engines a year for the Sonata, with plans to expand production by 100,000 units.
