Fact #643: October 4, 2010
Four Cylinder Engine Installations Continue to Rise

The share of 4 cylinder engines installed in light vehicles has been increasing since 2004. Beginning in 2006, cars have shown an increase in 4 cylinder engine installations while 8 cylinder engine installations have declined during that same period. For light trucks, 6 and 8 cylinder engine installations have declined modestly while the number of 4 cylinder engines has increased markedly from 4.5% in 2004 to nearly 15% in 2009.

Supporting Information

Light Vehicle Engine Installations by Cylinder, 2000-2009 (Percent of Total)

Cars					Trucks					All Light Vehicles
Year	4cyl	6cyl	8cyl		Year	4cyl	6cyl	8cyl		Year	4cyl	6cyl	8cyl
2000	46.6	44.0	9.3		2000	7.8	49.6	40.8		2000	26.9	46.8	25.3
2001	48.8	42.3	8.9		2001	7.2	48.7	42.6		2001	27.1	45.6	26.5
2002	49.0	43.0	8.1		2002	6.4	50.8	41.9		2002	24.3	47.5	27.7
2003	49.1	42.8	8.1		2003	6.4	47.5	45.2		2003	24.6	45.5	29.4
2004	50.1	42.4	7.5		2004	4.5	45.2	48.5		2004	22.7	44.1	32.1
2005	53.5	39.1	7.4		2005	5.1	50.4	42.2		2005	24.9	45.8	27.9
2006	48.5	38.8	10.2		2006	8.0	47.6	41.6		2006	25.4	43.8	28.1
2007	52.6	34.6	7.2		2007	9.9	45.3	42.9		2007	28.4	40.7	27.5
2008	57.0	30.2	5.6		2008	10.1	47.5	40.7		2008	31.9	39.5	24.4
2009	61.9	24.2	4.9		2009	14.8	44.0	40.0		2009	37.9	34.3	22.8
Note: Only 4, 6, and 8 cylinder engines are considered in these data, though a small amount of other engines are installed. Source: Ward's Automotive Group, Ward's Automotive Yearbook 2010.

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