The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders have reported that UK car sales reached a significant high with 492,774 individuals registering a new vehicle last month (March 2015). This is the highest monthly figure for car sales to date for this century, with the Society revealing that figures have not been this high since 1999 – when the UK moved to bi-annual registration plate changes.
The International Business Times have credited this figure as a result of steady economic growth and an increase in consumer confidence. The figure also correlates with the growing trend of automakers producing vehicles with smaller sized turbocharged engines in an effort to conform to increasingly stringent Government fuel economy rules and standards.
The dramatic trend of automaker giants shifting away from naturally aspirated vehicles is resulting in a boom in the turbocharger industry. The misconception that turbocharging an engine is an expensive performance enhancement, typically favoured by individuals owning fuel guzzling sports cars and high-end luxury vehicles, is no more. A turbocharger allows a smaller engine to perform like one much larger in size, by providing extra power, when required. However because the engine is actually smaller it burns significantly less fuel, reducing the vehicles overall fuel consumption.
As turbocharger specialists here at Turbo Dynamics we have seen, first-hand, a sheer increase in the number of turbochargers we are producing for more modern cars with smaller engines. This is because turbochargers offer drivers the best of both worlds; the ability of being able to improve fuel economy whilst maintaining an impressive output of both power and torque – providing the answer for automakers and their quest of lower carbon emissions.
Elizabeth Jarrold
