Change in battery systems will support e-turbo tech: Honeywell 
Vehicles with turbochargers will account for 48% of annual global sales by 2021, up nine percentage points from this year, according to a forecast from Honeywell’s Transportation Systems. The trend to bigger engine sizes in China and Europe, as powertrains are adapted for increasingly strict emissions regulations, and eventual right-sizing of engines is expected to support electric boosting products, supporting an industry shift from 12- to 48-volt battery systems.The report suggests electrics and hybrids will grow from three million vehicles in 2016 to 16 million in 2021, with 46% of the electrified category being "mild hybrids" of which 70% will have multiple turbo systems.

This year’s forecast recognizes an industry trend for slightly bigger engine sizes in Europe and China as automakers adapt powertrain strategies to tackle updated emissions regulations developed for real-world driving conditions. In these regions, a typical powertrain is a three- or four-cylinder engine with a displacement size between 1.2 liters and 1.7 liters. By rightsizing engines with available technologies, automakers are able to continue applying the benefits of smaller turbocharged engines while fine-tuning powertrain systems to further optimize fuel economy, emissions and performance.

Honeywell’s Transportation Systems Forecast projects that turbocharged vehicles will acount for 48% of annual global sales by 2021, up 9 percentage points from 2016. This annual sales estimate, combining both passenger and commercial vehicles, would add more than 232 million turbocharged vehicles globally between 2017 and 2021—an increase of 35% from today.

In addition, Honeywell’s forecast calls for electric boosting products to help support compliance with more stringent national environmental standards. To this end, it is anticipated that the industry will begin moving from 12-volt battery systems to 48-volt systems.

This change opens the door for a cost-effective electric boosting technology solution featuring e-chargers and e-turbos to help improve efficiency and performance of the internal combustion engine in a mild hybrid vehicle. E-boosting products can significantly improve engine responsiveness and also provide better fuel economy. Specific to diesel, it also has the potential to significantly reduce pollutant emissions, like mononitrogen oxide (NO x ), and help meet more stringent regulations including the Real-Driving Emissions test in Europe.

Electrics and hybrids are expected to grow from a total of 3 million vehicles in 2016 to a total of 16 million by 2021. Within the electrified category, mild hybrids are expected to account for 46% of the mix; full hybrids will account for 40%; and pure electric vehicles will be most of the remaining 14%. Honeywell estimates 70% of all mild hybrid vehicles will have a turbo or multiple turbo systems (mechanical and electric). In addition, Honeywell has drawn upon its engineering competencies in the automotive and aerospace industries to create a new two-stage electrical compressor used by Honda Motor Co. for its hydrogen-powered Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle.

More findings from the forecast include:

The projected increase in annual sales of vehicles with a turbo from 38 million today to 52 million in 2021 equates to a 35% increase, or 6% CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) compared with a 2% CAGR for all global industry sales.

The global turbo business is expected to reach almost $12 billion in industry sales in 2021.

Globally, diesel engines will retain a significant share of global light vehicle sales at nearly 18 percent, due to their lower fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Diesel engines also provide increased torque, range and driving pleasure especially for pickup trucks, SUVs and light commercial vehicles, which remain extremely popular.

Vehicle complexity will increase with the onboarding of new technology, making automotive software such as Honeywell’s OnRAMP Design Suite a key enabler for meeting more stringent emission regulations. The automotive industry currently spends between $2 billion and $4 billion a year just on the development and calibration of powertrain controls to manage a vehicle’s engine and after-treatment functions such as diagnostics. OnRAMP can reduce development time from months to days as well as help optimize engine controls of subsystems designed to reduce CO 2 and other emissions.

Regional highlights include:

In North America, more engine downsizing is expected. The current average engine size is a 3.0-liter six-cylinder. As the region continues to shift from larger naturally aspirated engines to smaller turbocharged ones, Honeywell is working to provide more twin-scroll turbo technology support, which extracts more energy from four-cylinder exhaust profiles. Honeywell expects light vehicle sales of turbocharged vehicles to grow 11 points to 33% of regional sales or more than 7 million vehicles by 2021. Turbocharged diesel engines will continue to be in demand on light-duty trucks.

Europe will easily remain the global leader with an overall turbo penetration of 74%. The mix between gasoline and diesel will shift slightly as gas turbo penetration in light vehicle sales grows 9 points to 52% in 2021. Additional technology benefits are needed as many automakers still have a gap of 15 to 30 g/km before meeting the 2021 target of 95 g/km.

In China, emissions regulations are scheduled to become the toughest in the world. These new rules will favor the development of gasoline turbocharged engines and wider adoption of electrification. China will be the highest growth market for turbocharged light vehicles with an 16 point increase in penetration of total sales. This equates to an expected 80% increase in the number of annual sales in 2021 at more than 13.5 million versus 7.5 million in 2016. Honeywell is supporting this massive turbo adoption in China especially in the three-cylinder engine segment using its third-generation gas technology. This features a wastegate with a Honeywell-developed mono-block arm and valve, reducing noise by 5 to 10 decibels and improving fuel economy by up to 0.5% with better controllability and 50 percent less wear due to repetitive motion within the turbo housing.

Other regions including Japan, Korea, India and South America will see on average a 7% growth in turbocharging volume driven by the expected recovery of South America and Southeast Asia economies, and more stringent regulations including India’s Bharat Stage 6 and Brazil’s Inovar-Auto and future programs.

Methodology. Honeywell’s annual Transportation Systems industry forecast looks at the next five years of transportation technology trends including turbo penetration as well as the growing use of automotive software and electric boosting products among anticipated global vehicle sales.

Honeywell’s forecast methodology is based on multiple sources including, but not limited to, macroeconomic analyses, original equipment manufacturers’ production and development plans shared with the company, and expert deliberations from automotive industry. The survey sample is representative of the entire industry in terms of geography, operation and fleet composition.