Honeywell Bullish on Turbocharging

Honeywell International Inc.'s Turbo Technologies unit predicts the automotive turbocharger market will grow 14% annually over the next five years, reaching $12 billion and 49 million units annually by 2019.

The forecast says the biggest jump will occur in China, where the percentage of turbocharged vehicles is expected to zoom from 23% today to 41% in five years. In North America, penetration will climb from 21% to 38% over the same period.

The proportion of turbocharged engines will advance to 69% from 67% in Europe, 48% from 46% in India and 23% from 18% in Japan, the forecast says. The analysis expects the application rate will climb to 45% from 42% in South Korea and to 24% from 17% in South America.

Honeywell notes that turbocharging over the past decade has shifted from a niche technology in the high-performance market to a mainstream technique for lowering emissions and raising fuel economy.

The company predicts continued strong growth in demand in part because turbocharging is compatible with virtually all engine technologies currently in production.