Hybrid drivetrain costs on the way down
According to a recent report by JPMorgan Chase & Co, the average cost surcharge for a hybrid drivetrain will go down by 67 percent in the next decade. This means that using both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine under the same hood will cost both automakers and consumers less money. What will be the big driver of these cost reductions? Demand. According to the same study, in a decade, hybrid sales will account for 10 percent of the overall market, which equals 9.6 million units or an increase of 16 times their current market share. We know for sure that automakers have some pretty big plans for the technology, with such cars as the revised Toyota Prius, new Honda Insight and the first-ever Chevy Volt all expected to hit the market in the next few years. Of course, diesel technology is rapidly accelerating as well and its costs would theoretically go down as more oil-burners are sold. What's clear, though, is that fuel-saving will be a priority moving forward, regardless of the technology used, and the costs are on their way down.
[Source: Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lad 4:50PM (10/17/2008)
Nissan views PHEVs as transisional to the pure battery car. Initially, Renault and Nissan have announced their participation in "Project Better Place" where Renault will build the chassis and Nissan will build the battery units for a pure BEV.
"Better Place" has the goal of converting Israel, Denmark and Portugal to all BEVs in ten years. And, the charge power will be provided by non-fossil fuel power plants.
The head of "Better Place" says he can implement the same plan in any large country, including the U.S.
http://www.betterplace.com/
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Rick 2:43PM (10/20/2008)
So costs are on the way down (in the next decade)? Wow, that's enlightening. In a decade, we'll be drving electric cars which would surely make the value of hybrids less desireable and therefore, drive down the costs.
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