"No longer just for environmentalists," electric vehicles (EV) have gone mainstream! Beating out all other gasoline powered cars, the Toyota Prius electric vehicle (HEV) became the best selling passenger vehicle in Japan during 2009. Through the first decade of the millennium, hybrids have represented a niche market, merely capturing one percent or less of the international passenger vehicle market. However, in 2009 SBI Energy approximated that a little over 700,000 electric vehicles were sold globally, with 99% of those vehicles being hybrid electric ones. In other words, "HEVs stole 1.5% of the world passenger vehicles market in 2009, and almost 8% of the same market in Japan."
With the rise of growing consumer acceptance of HEVs there will be new consumer segments purchasing HEVs in the near future. Currently, however, the demographics for hybrid ownership are still quite slanted towards educated, affluent families. In light of this trend of hybrids hitting the mainstream, it won't be long before plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) models follow suite.
The current plan sees plug-in electric vehicle products from Nissan, Toyota, and Mitsubishi coming to market in 2010. However, there is one major setback: the lithium-ion battery technology necessary to make PHEVs and BEVs with an adequate driving range that will appeal to consumers is pricey. This will lead to a cost premium for plug-in vehicles, which will keep sales minimized through the next 4 or 5 years.
This report will provide a succinct, focused glimpse into the world of battery electric and hybrid electric vehicles, as it currently exists in addition to a forecast of where the market is heading towards over the next five years.
For more details on this information:
http://www.the-infoshop.com/report/sbi115094-ev-phev.html
The Infoshop by Global Information Inc. is an online aggregator for premium market research.
Contact:
Eric Chang
860-674-8796
echang@the-infoshop.com
http://www.the-infoshop.com
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