Stop-Start Systems Could Capture 40% of Chinese Market by 2020

The proportion of new vehicles sold in China with automatic engine stop-start systems could zoom to 40% by the end of the decade from about 2% today, Johnson Controls Inc. predicts.

JCI began making stop-start system components in China seven years ago for locally assembled Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

The U.S.-based company says China's rising fuel economy standards will pressure more carmakers to adopt the technology, which can improve fuel economy as much as 8% in urban driving. Last month Colorado-based Navigant Research forecast that stop-start system could capture 55% of the global light-vehicle market by 2024. Such systems are already popular in Europe.