Who produces the most internal combustion engines in the world?

When it comes to manufacturers of passenger cars and engines for them, associations with the world's largest auto concerns involuntarily arise. Such as GM, Mercedes-Benz, VW, BMW, Toyota: the vehicles they produce are a symbol of reliability, quality, and sometimes wealth. It would seem logical to assume that one of these auto giants holds the palm. But nothing of the sort! The world leader in the number of internal combustion engines produced and sold is Honda. The concern produces not only power units, but also cars, motorcycles, scooters. In addition to Honda, there are other companies that develop power units that run on diesel fuel or gasoline and are in high demand around the world. The most "prolific" manufacturers will be discussed below.

Honda Motor Company

Initially a small company founded by entrepreneur Soichiro Honda in the 30s of the 20th century. Initially, the company produced components for engines produced by other enterprises.



By 1949, the company began large-scale production of motorcycles and became officially known as the Honda Motor Company. Decades later, Honda has significantly expanded its product range. Today, in addition to internal combustion engines and motorcycles, it produces cars and special equipment equipped with a variety of types of engines. The main features of internal combustion engines produced by Honda:

• ✅ high turnover
  
• ✅ variable gas distribution phases
  
• ✅ the ability to install on all-wheel drive vehicles
  

Modern trends in the use of alternative energy sources have become "mandatory" for the Japanese company. In 1999, the manufacturer began producing passenger cars with hybrid engines. Moreover, the company was the first to release a “universal” motor for a moped. The auto giant is going to equip all manufactured vehicles with hybrid or electric engines by 2023. An average of 4 million passenger cars are sold per year (in 2021 - 3,893 million). The number of engines sold for the same period is within 15 million units.

Daimler AG

One of the world leaders in the automotive industry, which began its activity in 1886. The concern officially became Daimler-Benz AG in 1926 after the merger of a pair of long-standing collaborators: Benz & Cie and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. The company is distinguished by a wide variety of manufactured internal combustion engines. Among them you can find motors:

• ✅ in-line or V-shaped
  
• ✅ "aspirated", turbocharged or twin-turbo
  
• ✅ with the number of cylinders from four to twelve
  
• ✅ sports type with increased power
  

However, the era of ICE is ending. At least such a conclusion can be drawn from the statement of the official of the company - Markus Schafer, who holds the post of head of the development department of Daimler AG. According to him, the M256 unit, which is an in-line "six", can complete the company's line of internal combustion engines. This power unit was demonstrated to the general public in 2017, it is installed on the E and S-class, GLE, CLS and others. But a year earlier, the company presented the Generation EQ electric concept at the Paris Motor Show. In 2022, 2,048 million Mercedes-Benz vehicles were produced, of course with the same engine.

General Motors Co.

An American corporation that officially began operations in 1908. Today it owns such famous brands as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Opel, Cadillac, Holden, Alpheon, Vauxhall. In 2021, 574 thousand pieces of equipment were sold. The production of engines goes in several directions.

Gasoline engines for cars

The very first had a pair of cylinders. Over time, their number increased and today can reach 12. Cars equipped with engines with the smallest (three) number of cylinders (GM E-Turbo engine), produced to date:

• ✅ Chevrolet - Orlando (produced in China), Trailblazer, Tracker and Malibu models
  
• ✅ Buick-Verano, Encore GX, Lacrosse
  
• ✅ Opel Astra
  

Of the four-cylinder in-line power units, the L3B, developed in 2019, is currently being produced. The engine is equipped with a Cadillac CT4. Six-cylinder in-line ones are not produced, and V-shaped GM High Feature and GM Generation V Ecotec 3 are now installed on cars:

• ✅ Cadillac CT6
  
• ✅Chevrolet Colorado (LGZ)
  
• ✅ Chevrolet Silverado (EcoTec3 LV3) and other cars
  

Of the 8-cylinder engines, the Cadillac twin-turbo V8 and GM LT6 are currently being produced. The latter is installed on the Chevrolet Malibu, the former on the Cadillac CT6. The company also produced 12- and 16-cylinder power units. The production of the gasoline-electric hybrid Voltec, which is equipped with the Chevrolet Volt, has also been mastered.

Cummins

The US corporation is considered a leader in the production of diesel power units. The company was founded in 1919. Its first director and owner was Clessie Cummins (he started out as a self-taught mechanic), after whom the company was named. Today, the Cummins Engine Busines division of the company produces and sells diesel engines with a capacity of up to 3500 hp for equipment operating in the city and off-road: trucks, buses, agricultural and military vehicles, sea vessels, autonomous generators. There are 4 enterprises in operation:

• ✅ Cummins Filtration produces filters, oils under the Fleetguard brand
  
• ✅ Turbo Technologies is developing turbines for the company's diesel engines
  
• ✅ Emission Solutions seeks and designs, and then implements new technologies that reduce the emission of harmful substances
  
• ✅ Fuel Systems - the plant produces and sells fuel systems for engines with a volume of 9-78 liters and an ECU with software
  
• ✅ Power Generation Business produces diesel generators with a capacity of 2,5-2700 kW, capable of operating, including on "blue" fuel
  

In 2018, the company created its first electric car, a truck powered by batteries. Cummins Aeos is a classic American-style truck tractor. With a load of 20 tons, it overcomes up to 160 km without recharging. There is a variant of the car with additional solar panels. Since 2006, Cummins has been actively cooperating with KAMAZ, but today, due to well-known political events, the interaction of the companies has been suspended.

Are there any prospects for the ICE?

No matter what the ardent environmentalists say, it will not work today to completely abandon motors running on hydrocarbons. But on the other hand, we can already say that there is almost no point in improving the internal combustion engine further - the results, even if they are, will turn out to be insignificant.

Therefore, now engineers of engine building and automobile companies are going in two ways. The first is to create efficient hybrids, where electricity will take over part of the "duties" to generate the required power. For example, the Germans introduced the Audi Q7 e-tron hybrid. It is assumed that the car will drive around the city on electricity, and the internal combustion engine will be connected to work on the highway. The second option is unloading the crankshaft. The system is simpler and the essence of its work is the accumulation of energy during braking in a special capacitor, which takes only a few seconds to charge. Then the “free” electricity is used to replenish the capacity of the standard battery and power the onboard electrical equipment. In any case, it is clear that internal combustion engines in their “pure” form will become less and less common every year.