"Less is more" Private cars have not ceased to grow in terms of volume, weight and performance over the past 20 years; however, the phenomenon is now abating, or even reversing. From "always wanting more" we’ve gone to "less is more".
For obvious economic and environmental reasons (global warming, depletion of oil reserves, the explosion of petrol prices…), it has become urgent to
minimise vehicles’ energy needs.
Which is where the interest in downsizing enters the fray. If this term designates, above all, the engines, "it also symbolises a more global tendency towards the reduction of the size of cars", remarks François Roudier, spokesman for the CCFA (French Automobile Manufacturers Committee).
Since the introduction of the "bonus-malus" system* in 2008, "demand for small vehicles has exploded to the detriment of the largest models". This inflection of sales in favour of
"fuel-efficient cars" should become more marked in Europe over the coming years, with the reinforcement of environmental standards.
The United States will not escape this progression, reconsidering their car model, which, for a long time, was based upon large, energy-greedy vehicles (crossover and pick-ups). At the latest
Detroit Auto Show the small car had a particular place of honour. Ford introduced the Fiesta and the new Focus, whereas General Motors showed the new Chevrolet Aveo and Cruze. However, BMW's Tango T600 took the prize for the smallest electric car model. It's no longer than 1 metre and has an 8-hour battery range.
So, downsizing does not just result from technological progress, it also marks deeper changes in car design and in behaviour.
* the French "bonus-malus" system rewards (
bonus) purchasers of environmentally-friendly new cars and penalises (
malus) those buying cars emitting high levels of CO2
A basic tendency Downsizing is progressively gaining ground. In the United States, the future of huge V8s thus seems increasingly uncertain. In Germany, the sporty marque Porsche has just announced the launch of a "small" 4-cylinder model that emits less than 200 g/km of C02.
The race for power is running out of steam and is giving way to a new battle, one for efficiency and energy savings. BMW is leading this field with its EfficientDynamics programme which manages to reconcile high performance with reduced consumption (184 HP and 4.7 l/100 km for the forthcoming 320d model).
Initially applied to diesel motorizations at the end of the 1990s, the logic of downsizing has progressively spread to petrol engines over the past few years. At RENAULT, downsizing started with the 1.5 dCi diesel engine in the last decade and is continuing at the moment with the TCe (Turbo Control Efficiency) petrol motorizations range available on all models.
The Volkswagen group has also joined the adventure with its TSI direct-injection petrol engines; the marques Fiat and Opel both each have a downsized motorisation.
And this is only the beginning. A new step will be taken soon with the arrival of a new generation of engines that are smaller than 1.0 litre: a bi-cylinder from Fiat and a petrol 3-cylinder from PSA (Peugeot and Citroën) and Renault. Enough to bring consumption down to 3 litres for 100 km from small city cars.
A necessary adaptation "Are all these efforts to improve the thermic engine necessary when the post-petrol era is imminent?" Experts are unanimous in their response."Progress in all fields must be maintained because, at the moment, there is no single solution", is Mr Roudier of the CCFA’s analysis. "We’re in the process of moving from the monolithic car of the 20th century, with one kind of engine and architecture, to a new era that integrates different systems."
Downsized motorizations, hybrid or electric, will have to coexist for a long time yet, until the depletion of oil reserves.
Several decades at least.
"The transition from petrol to electric will take time", confirms Laurent Gagnepain at ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency).
Considering that, according to estimates, the number of
electric and hybrid vehicles shouldn’t exceed 10% of the number of cars on the road worldwide in 2020, the thermic engine’s days are far from being numbered.
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