Photo: Renault
More and more cars in Europe are now being offered with engines of 1-liter displacement or lower. Their adoption rate is high, but not as high as in Brazil, where pint-sized mills have become the predominant form of transportation.
Last year, sales of new cars with 1-liter engines or smaller accounted for a massive 42.7% of the overall market, the highest number since June 2012, when they peaked at 43.6%.
Local market research shows that the popularity of these mills increased throughout last year due to the launch of newer cars from major car companies, including Volkswagen Up!, Renault Sandero, Hyundai HB20 and especially General Motors's range of Chevrolets. The new Ford Ka also hit the market late in the year, launched exclusively with a 1-liter before adding a 1.5-liter option.
Why 1-liter engines? Because they enjoy tax incentives in Brazil. Anything at 1L or below falls within a 7% bracket, while between 1 and 2 liters, cars are taxed at 11% if they run on ethanol or 13% on gasoline.
But the worst thing of all is that the Brazilian 1-liter market is clearly impacting Europeans in a significant way. Because smaller cars tend not to be profitable, automakers split development costs between the two continents and as a result, we're getting more and more European A- and B-segment cars with gutless engines.
Non-turbocharged 3-cylinder mills sound rough and with under 100 Nm of torque, they never have what it takes to move a 1-ton car. One solution is to go turbo, like Ford does by offering an 80 hp 1L and a 100 hp EcoBoost. However, this is an expensive solution.
We want to know if you've noticed the negative impact of these 1-liter engines on the European car market. Tell us your torque-less, un-frugal story in the comment section below.
Local market research shows that the popularity of these mills increased throughout last year due to the launch of newer cars from major car companies, including Volkswagen Up!, Renault Sandero, Hyundai HB20 and especially General Motors's range of Chevrolets. The new Ford Ka also hit the market late in the year, launched exclusively with a 1-liter before adding a 1.5-liter option.
Why 1-liter engines? Because they enjoy tax incentives in Brazil. Anything at 1L or below falls within a 7% bracket, while between 1 and 2 liters, cars are taxed at 11% if they run on ethanol or 13% on gasoline.
What we think
This market is built on government restrictions, not consumer demand. We've tested a number of cars with downsized engines and never saw the benefits in fuel consumption promised by the manufacturers. In the real world, our results were usually about 50% off.But the worst thing of all is that the Brazilian 1-liter market is clearly impacting Europeans in a significant way. Because smaller cars tend not to be profitable, automakers split development costs between the two continents and as a result, we're getting more and more European A- and B-segment cars with gutless engines.
Non-turbocharged 3-cylinder mills sound rough and with under 100 Nm of torque, they never have what it takes to move a 1-ton car. One solution is to go turbo, like Ford does by offering an 80 hp 1L and a 100 hp EcoBoost. However, this is an expensive solution.
We want to know if you've noticed the negative impact of these 1-liter engines on the European car market. Tell us your torque-less, un-frugal story in the comment section below.
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