The number of small and medium cars sold in Europe fitted with all-wheel-drive systems is set to double by 2021, new figures suggests.
Research from Frost & Sullivan suggests that the market for all-wheel-drive crossovers will be worth 5.91 billion euros (£4.1bn) in 2021, up from 3.83 billion euros in 2014, while the number of vehicles is set to hit over two million units.
The research company suggests that customers are choosing AWD vehicles because they offer greater traction in adverse weather conditions, however four-wheel-drive models tend to be less efficient than front and rear-wheel drive counterparts.
New all-wheel-drive systems, though can be designed to have much less of an impact on economy and emissions figures.
“The majority of AWD vehicles have electronically controlled systems such as automatic AWD that provides the optimum balance between fuel consumption and performance,” saidFrost & Sullivan automotive & transportation senior research analyst,Viroop Narla. “The considerable progress made by OEMs in the fully electronic AWD segment is expected to further reduce fuel consumption.”