PARIS – Honeywell Transportation Systems is projecting a huge increase in the number of vehicles equipped with turbocharged engines coming to market, at a total of 36 million sold globally in 2017. The company predicts the largest increases will occur in the U.S., India, and China. In Europe, turbochargers are already on two-thirds of passenger vehicles. That said Honeywell projects growth in Europe as well, though not as significant as in the countries mentioned previously.

For the U.S., Honeywell said it expects the number to triple in the next five years to more than 4 million in 2017, compared to 1.3 million in 2011. The company is projecting that turbos will be on roughly one-third of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2017.

For China, Honeywell is projecting growth from the 2.1 million turbos sold in vehicles in 2011 to 6.7 million in 2017 (25% market penetration). For Europe, turbochargers are already common, in 12.9 million vehicles in 2011 (67%). The company is still expecting the number of turbos to grow to 17.4 million, or in more than 85% of new vehicles, in 2017.

“Turbocharged engines are expected to continue to grow globally because they meet the needs of consumers in a wide range of vehicle segments and geographic markets,” said Honeywell Transportation Systems Vice President of Marketing and Product Management Peter Hill. “Turbochargers offer a combination of fuel-savings and performance at an affordable price compared to other technologies, making them an attractive option on subcompact cars, full-size luxury sedans, pick-up trucks and everything in between.”

This report expands on an earlier report from Honeywell that focused specifically on the U.S. market.