U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Office

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.

Engine Installations by Cylinder for Cars, 2000-2009
Graph showing the percentage of engine installations (4, 6, and 8 cylinder) for cars from 2000 to 2009. For more detailed information, see supporting information below.
Engine Installations by Cylinder for Light Trucks, 2000-2009
Graph showing the percentage of engine installations (4, 6, and 8 cylinder) for light trucks from 2000 to 2009. For more detailed information, see supporting information below.

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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