Honeywell discussing U.S. gas turbochargers with GM

By Scott Malone

DETROIT (Reuters) - Honeywell International Inc (HON.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is in talks with General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) about providing turbochargers for gasoline-powered vehicles, the head of the diversified U.S. manufacturer's transportation systems unit said on Tuesday.

"We are certainly talking to GM about gas turbocharging," said Adriane Brown, who serves as president and chief executive of Honeywell Transportation Systems, which earlier this year was selected by Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to provide turbochargers for its upcoming EcoBoost engines, due out in 2010 models.

Overall, the company expects U.S. demand for turbochargers -- which can improve fuel efficiency -- to perhaps triple by the middle of the next decade.

"When you come to the U.S., diesel accounts for about 3 percent of sales and when you add gas boosting, that's about 3 percent. So today we're at 6 percent total boosted," Brown said. "That's expected to climb ... to 15 to 20 percent between 2013 and 2015."

Brown said that a gasoline engine using a turbocharger can be about 20 percent more fuel efficient than a traditional gasoline engine, which would need to be larger and burn more fuel to generate comparable amounts of power. A turbocharged diesel engine can be 40 percent more efficient than a comparable traditional gasoline engine, she said.

Honeywell's transportation arm also makes consumer products including Prestone antifreeze and Autolite spark plugs. Investors have long asked why the conglomerate does not sell that consumer business, which has struggled to grow as fewer consumers choose to repair their own cars.

To offset that shift, Honeywell aims to boost the unit's sales to repair shops, as well as into Europe and Asia, Brown said.

"Our wonderful primary customer group, the do-it yourselfers, is not a growing segment. So we have to accept that first and say then what do we need to do differently?" she said. "That is to expand our brand capability into the do-it-for-me market."

Honeywell's transportation unit last year earned $583 million on $5 billion in sales. The sales figure represented about 14 percent of corporate total revenue.

Other U.S. makers of turbochargers include BorgWarner Inc (BWA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Cummins Inc (CMI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

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(Reporting by Scott Malone; editing by Carol Bishopric)