Gasoline Demand

Demand for Gasoline Direct Injection (GDi) cars is on the rise. Innospec shares insights into this popular engine technology.

New vehicle emissions legislation has led car manufacturers to invest heavily in Gasoline Direct Injection (GDi) technology, which offers improved fuel economy and better engine efficiency.

Across the globe consumers are opting for these lighter turbo-charged gasoline engines. In fact, GDi engines now account for the majority of new car sales across all the premium brands, and its forecast that the global GDi market will hit $10 billion by 2024.

Nowhere is this trend more pronounced than in Europe, where diesel passenger cars dropped from 55% market share in 2012 to 31% in 2019*.  This number is expected to drop further as cities like Oslo, Paris and Rome have recently announced their intention to ban diesel vehicles from 2024. This market share shift away from diesel has greatly increased penetration of GDi engines in new European cars.  And in the gasoline-dominant United States, GDi powertrains now account for 55% of all new car sales compared to only 40% for traditional port fuel injection (PFI) engines**.

While GDi is the powertrain of the present and future for passenger cars due to its higher efficiency, it carries downsides such as injector fouling, higher particulate matter generation, and Low Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI). Keeping GDi injectors clean is vital to maintaining engine performance, especially as regulatory bodies increase enforcement of emissions compliance over the lifetime of vehicles. Innospec research has shown that heritage gasoline detergent chemistries alone are not effective in addressing GDi injector fouling. New additive chemistries tailored specifically to GDi engines are needed to help address with this problem. As the GDi market grows, Innospec is positioned to support it with industry-leading chemistries specifically designed for the GDi engine. 

* European Vehicle Market Statistics Pocketbook 2020/21 p34 ** EPA Automotive Trends Report, January 2021, p70.