PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B60

B60K - Arrangement OR Mounting OF Propulsion Units OR OF Transmi…

Arrangement or mounting of propulsion units or of transmissions in vehicles; arrangement or mounting of plural diverse prime-movers in vehicles; auxiliary drives for vehicles; instrumentation or dashboards for vehicles; arrangements in connection with cooling, air intake, gas exhaust or fuel supply . 34,645 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

34,645
US patents granted
B60
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+39%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Arrangement OR Mounting OF Propulsion Units OR OF Transmi… ranks #51 of 670 CPC technology areas - 34,645 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 39% over five years.

#51
of 670 CPC technology areas
34,645
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Toyota Jidosha
leading assignee (2,885)
+39%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (2,885 patents)

CPC subclass B60K - ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY - covers 34,645 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B60 (VEHICLES IN GENERAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B60K is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha leads with 2,885 patents, followed by Ford Global Technologies, Llc at 2,130 grants and Hyundai Motor Company at 1,865.

Filing activity in B60K is up 39% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B60K innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B60K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 39% versus 2015–2019.

2,0002,5003,0003,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 2,419

Who leads B60K?

The 12 most active assignees in ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Toyota Jidosha is the most active filer in B60K, holding 2,885 of the 34,645 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass B60K
Rank Company Patents in B60K
#1 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha 2,885
#2 Ford Global Technologies, Llc 2,130
#3 Hyundai Motor Company 1,865
#4 Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 1,447
#5 KIA Motors Corporation 940
#6 GM Global Technology Operations Llc 836
#7 Denso Corporation 701
#8 AUDI Ag 511
#9 Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. 461
#10 KIA Corporation 410
#11 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft 404
#12 ZF Friedrichshafen Ag 383
#13 Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft 346
#14 Deere & Company 321
#15 Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. KG 321
#16 Kubota Corporation 321
#17 Subaru Corporation 308
#18 Mazda Motor Corporation 297
#19 Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. 273
#20 Yazaki Corporation 236

About This Class

CPC subclass B60K belongs to class B60.

34,645 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B60K assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 B60K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B60K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 681012141618 01000200030004000 Patents in B60K Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Toyota JidoshaFord GlobalHyundai MotorHonda MotorKia MotorsGm Global Technology…DensoAudiNissan MotorKiaBayerische Motoren We…Zf FriedrichshafenVolkswagen Aktiengese…Deere &
Top 14 B60K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B60K?
CPC subclass B60K covers ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY . It belongs to CPC class B60 (VEHICLES IN GENERAL), with 34,645 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B60K?
34,645 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B60K between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B60K?
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha leads B60K with 2,885 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B60K collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., B60) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B60K provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.