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Vehicle Data Global analysis reported by This Is Money found average car engine power output rose 28.9% in just over 20 years, while average engine capacity fell 7.8% from 2005 to 2025. The figures include hybrid electric-motor contributions, so they do not represent combustion-engine output alone for hybrids; the analysis also finds engine downsizing has slowed in recent years.
Average car power output has risen 28.9% in just over 20 years, while average engine capacity fell, according to analysis by data specialist Vehicle Data Global (VDG), reported by This Is Money. The figures show how turbocharging and hybrid systems have helped automakers offer more power from smaller powertrains, although the reported hybrid totals include electric-motor output as well as combustion-engine power.
VDG calculated that average engine capacity fell 7.8%, from 1,771cc in 2005 to 1,633cc in 2025. Over the same period, average power per litre rose 42.9% to 69.1kW per litre, a measure of output relative to engine capacity. Median engine size declined from 1,599cc to 1,498cc, while median power increased from about 107bhp to 138bhp.
The analysis also compared cars producing at least 134bhp from engines of 1.5 litres or less. VDG counted 8,500 such cars registered in 2005, or 0.4% of registrations, compared with 444,000 in 2025, or 26.7%. Those are registration figures, not a count of every car on the road. VDG’s analysis includes electric-motor contributions in reported hybrid power figures, so its results are not a like-for-like measure of combustion engines alone.
Examples in the report include a Skoda Octavia 1.5 TSI e-TEC mild hybrid rated at 150PS, and a Ford Puma 1.0 EcoBoost mild hybrid rated at 155PS. VDG put the Puma’s output at about 153bhp, compared with 132bhp for the 1980s Ford Escort RS Turbo. The report also cited a Nissan Qashqai mild hybrid at about 156bhp, above the output it attributed to an early-1970s Triumph TR6 PI. These comparisons illustrate the figures but involve different vehicle types, technologies and model eras.
More Power From Smaller Engines
The figures help explain why modest engine capacity no longer reliably signals modest output. A small turbocharged petrol engine, sometimes paired with an electric motor, can produce power figures once associated with sportier cars. For buyers, that can mean family hatchbacks and crossovers offer strong stated output without large-displacement engines.
The change also reflects pressure on manufacturers to meet tighter emissions requirements, a factor identified in the source report. Turbocharging forces more compressed air into an engine’s combustion chamber, while hybrid systems can add electric-motor power. But output alone does not show a vehicle’s real-world fuel economy, emissions, acceleration, or running costs. The VDG statistics describe power and engine capacity; they do not establish that every newer car is more efficient or faster in everyday driving.
Hybrid accounting matters when readers compare generations. A combined system figure can include electric assistance that is not produced by the petrol engine itself. The headline increase is therefore best understood as a change in reported powertrain output, rather than a direct measure of how much more powerful internal-combustion engines have become on their own.
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How the 2005–2025 Comparison Works
VDG’s main trend comparison begins in 2005 and runs to 2025. It uses averages and medians, which describe different parts of the market: an average can be affected by unusually high or low values, while a median identifies the middle value. The reported 28.9% increase in average power is distinct from the 42.9% increase in power per litre; the latter accounts for engine capacity.
The data suggest that engines became smaller over much of the period, but that trend has recently levelled off. VDG put average capacity at about 1,645cc in 2019 and 1,633cc in 2025. In that span, average power rose from 105kW to 111kW. One-litre engines grew from about 3.3% of registrations in 2005 to a peak of 18% in 2020, then accounted for 14.5% last year.
The report’s historical vehicle comparisons span different decades and categories, including family cars, crossovers, hot hatches and a classic sports car. They are illustrative examples, not controlled tests under identical conditions. The broad market statistics provide the stronger basis for the overall trend.
“Nothing illustrates the engineering success of modern car makers better than our analysis of powertrain output increases from ever-shrinking engines over the past 20 years.”
— Ben Hermer, operations director of Vehicle Data Global
Limits of the Power Comparisons
The available material does not provide VDG’s full methodology, underlying registration dataset, or a breakdown of results by fuel type and powertrain. It also does not specify how the 28.9% average power increase was calculated across the full period, beyond describing it as a comparison over just over 20 years. The capacity figures are explicitly given for 2005 and 2025.
For hybrids, the source says reported power includes electric-motor contributions, but does not give separate combustion-engine and electric outputs for the models cited. It is also unclear from the supplied information how factors such as vehicle weight, emissions, fuel economy or performance testing compare across the historical examples. The figures establish a trend in rated output and capacity, not a universal claim about every modern car or its real-world performance.
Power Gains as Downsizing Slows
The analysis points to a slowdown in engine-capacity reductions: average capacity changed little from 2019 to 2025, while average power continued to rise. The supplied report does not identify a future forecast or a next scheduled data release. Further detail on VDG’s methods and powertrain breakdown would help readers judge how much of the increase comes from combustion engines, electric assistance, or changes in the mix of cars registered.
For now, the key takeaway from the reported data is that newer registrations tend to pair higher stated power with smaller average engine capacity than in 2005. The extent to which that translates into better efficiency or performance for individual drivers depends on the vehicle and cannot be established by these figures alone.
Key Questions
How much has average car power increased?
VDG reported a 28.9% rise in average power output over just over 20 years. Its separate data show median power rising from about 107bhp in 2005 to 138bhp in 2025.
Have car engines become smaller?
On average, yes, across the stated 2005–2025 comparison: VDG calculated that average capacity fell 7.8%, from 1,771cc to 1,633cc. The decline appears to have slowed in recent years.
Why can smaller engines produce more power?
The report points to turbocharging and hybrid technology. Turbochargers force additional compressed air into the engine, while electric motors can contribute power in hybrid vehicles.
Do the figures measure petrol-engine power alone?
No. VDG says its reported power figures for hybrids include contributions from electric motors. The analysis therefore measures reported powertrain output in those cases, not the combustion engine alone.
Does more stated power mean a car is more efficient?
Not by itself. The analysis compares power output and engine capacity, but the supplied figures do not establish real-world fuel economy, emissions, acceleration or running costs for individual cars.
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