BorgWarner expects huge upswing in turbo demand

As fuel economy standards tighten and prices rise, more car makers are turning to forced-induction solutions to improve the efficiency of existing engines. Turbochargers are the most efficient way to do so, and Detroit firm BorgWarner sees rising demand in North America, Europe and China as its ticket to increased sales. A partnership with Ford for its EcoBoost line of engines will be a driving force in the North American upswing.

The company will be building new plants in Mexico and Thailand and adding on to its facilities in Poland and Hungary, reports Automotive News. The expansion is designed to increase its output by 3 million turbochargers over the next three years. That represents a 40% increase, from 19 million to 27 million units. Europe alone is expected to see a 20% growth in turbocharger use.

This could mean a new generation of performance and economy vehicles. With many more turbocharged vehicles on the market, the price of maintenance and repairs for the relatively high-tech devices should drop as well.

For the enthusiasts, it's widely known that forced-induction cars are often suitable to easy and inexpensive modifications that can quickly increase power output. For the average driver, it will mean smaller engines that burn less fuel but provide similar levels of performance to todays mostly naturally aspirated engines.

Some of the specific applications BorgWarner will be using its turbochargers for include the rear-wheel drive variants of Ford's EcoBoost line. The company claims the use of dual turbochargers on a direct-injection Ford's 3.5L V6 will make it perform like a V8, but with a 20% savings in fuel and a 15% savings in emissions.