Over the years, there are many examples of three-cylinder engines and then overturning, and then changing back to four-cylinder engines, the nearest is X-Trail, and the farther is Honda Civic, Buick Yinglang and other models.
Recently, the three-cylinder Focus can not hold back, in Ford's product planning information shows that the upcoming resumption of four-cylinder Focus. In fact, Ford's three-cylinder engine is a number of three-cylinder engines among the more outstanding performance, 1.5T engine, can burst out 174 horsepower, NVH control is also a three-cylinder engine is more outstanding, much stronger than Honda BMW and the like, but still can not face the pressure of declining sales.
In 2014, Fox sales reached a peak of 390,000 +, but after the replacement of three-cylinder engines, sales fell off a cliff, according to the latest actual sales data analysis for the whole year of 2021 on the insurance volume statistics of traffic insurance, Changan Ford Focus This car in 2021 the cumulative sales volume of this car in 2021 is 22310 units, only sold more than 20,000 units in the whole year, less than Xuanyi's sales for half a month.
According to the news, Ford plans to launch a four-cylinder engine version of The Fox in the second quarter of this year, which will continue the design of the current Focus, but replace the powertrain, one way of saying that it will be replaced with Changan's 1.5T Blue Whale engine, with a maximum power of 138kW and a peak torque of 300N·m. There is also a theory that the 1.6L self-priming and 1.6T turbocharged engines are replaced, but both are four-cylinder engines.
Why do car companies always not hit the south door and do not turn back in the matter of three-cylinder engines?
First, under the pressure of emission policy, car companies have to use three-cylinder engines, because three-cylinder engines can achieve actually lower fuel consumption performance when they are tested on the shelves.
Second, because at the moment of modular engine design, switching from a four-cylinder engine to a three-cylinder engine can save a lot of research and development costs, such as X-Jun's three-cylinder engine is the most typical example. In terms of manufacturing costs, the three-cylinder engine is also lower, so it is a means of reducing costs and increasing efficiency for car companies.
Third, because foreign car companies did not expect domestic consumers to resist the three-cylinder engine, in Europe, the three-cylinder engine is very common, basically the entry-level models are three-cylinder, but the Chinese have experienced the era of Xiali, there is a deep-rooted resistance to the three-cylinder engine, and foreign car companies are not expected to be insufficient, so around 2017 to promote the three-cylinder General, Ford are for this reason, and Nissan is more confident, their own VCTURBO technology can minimize vibration, so do not believe in evil.
The three-cylinder strategy has proved difficult to succeed in China, and Nissan Buick Ford is a bloody example, so there will be no three-cylinder engine models in the future? No, because under the pressure of emissions, car companies have to find a way, otherwise it is waiting for death, the future three-cylinder engine is likely to continue to emit light and heat on the range extended hybrid, plug-in hybrid models, after all, the pressure of emission policies and the temptation of cost reduction and efficiency, how many car companies can endure it?