(May 16, 2010) It appears that new-vehicle buyers this year have been selecting a higher proportion of models with smaller, more fuel-efficient 4-cylinder engines than one year ago, according to Power Information Network (PIN) retail transaction data from J.D. Power and Associates.

According to PIN data, nearly one-half (46.5%) of the new vehicles purchased in the first quarter of 2010 were equipped with 4-cylinder engines, up almost 5 percentage points from 41.9% in the same quarter of 2009.

“For those choosing a midsize conventional car, such as a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord , 4 cylinders are even hotter, with 82.5% of buyers choosing a 4-cylinder engine in the first quarter of 2010, compared to 79.4% during the same time frame in 2009,” said Grace Hamulic, PIN production manager at J.D. Power and Associates. “With fuel prices on the rise once again, new- vehicle buyers appear to be opting for more fuel-efficient, 4-cylinder vehicles in April 2010, when 49% of new-vehicle buyers selected a 4-cylinder vehicle,” Hamulic added.

Although the percentage of 4-cylinder-equippped vehicles is on the rise, there still was a healthy percentage of new vehicles powered by V-6 engines purchased in April. Some 35.6% of new-vehicle buyers chose vehicles that were equipped with V-6 engines, which was less than in April 2009 when 38.4% of all new vehicles in the retail sales mix were equipped with V-6 engines. Even though this represents a slight dip, V-6 engines still account for a significant portion of overall new-vehicle sales.

The proportion of V-6 and V-8 engines as reflected in the sales of new vehicles also dropped in the first quarter, compared with the same period in 2009. The percentage of V-6-equipped new vehicles in the first quarter retail sales mix was 36.4%, down 3.6 points from 40% of the retail sales mix in the first quarter of 2009.

Meanwhile, the smallest demand was for new models with V-8 engines. In April, just 15.4% of new vehicles in the retail sales mix were equipped with V-8s, down more than 2 points from last year. The percentage of V-8 installations in the first quarter also declined this year — 15.8% vs. 16.4% in the first quarter of 2009.