In US market, engines on downsize trend while 6-speed AT on the rise

2011/12/08

Summary
Engine configurations: The 6-cylinder 3L-class engines account for 35.2%, the ratio of the 4-cylinder engines with less than 2L displacement increases to 9.0%
Transmissions: The ratio of 6-speed AT rises sharply to 53.7% while that of the 4-speed AT falls to 15.3%

Summary

Following is an outline of configurations in terms of the number of cylinders and piston displacements of the engines as well as the types of the transmissions on the passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States by 14 major auto manufacturers (MY2009 to MY2011).

Starting with the engines, the 6-cylinder 3L-class engines accounted for 35.2% in MY2011, up 6.6 percentage points from MY2009. The ratio of the 4-cylinder 2L-class engines remained generally unchanged at approximately 30% in the United States, but the ratio of the 4-cylinder engines with less than 2L displacement rose from 7.1% to 9.0%, suggesting a sign of downsizing.

With regard to the transmissions, the ratio of the 4-speed AT fell from 28.4% in MY2009 to 15.3% in MY2011 while the ratio of the 6-speed AT rose from 29.1% to 53.7%, indicating a sharp rise of multi-speed configurations.