Hybrids car: The future car

Course: Management Information Systems

Instructor: Dr. Prithwis Mukerjee

Amol Bankar (10BM60009)

Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharaghpur

Abstract

With the ever increasing crisis of the fossil fuels, the need of the hour is to switch our energy supply to
some non conventional source. Automobiles consume a major chunk of fossil fuels, so
cars/automobiles running on some alternate source of energy would be of much help in this pursuit.
Hybrid cars are one such radical developing technology which uses hybrid or mixture of fuels
(generally a conventional and a non conventional one). This paper explores new vistas for the future
of hybrid cars together with the approach and the requirements of such an endeavour. It will also
present a comparison on existing as well as future cars.

Introduction

Massive investment in the field of developing green, efficient and alternative fuel vehicles has been
fuelled by the growing concerns of reducing carbon emissions and the increasing highly volatile
conventional fuel prices. The recently observed growth of around 15% in the Hybrid car sales in spite
of a global Automobile Industry slowdown proves that the Hybrid car concept has emerged as the
most feasible and viable solution to the current situation ant it is fast attracting a huge attention of the
major players in the Automobile industry.

Though now, only the major players like Honda and Toyota in the field of automobile industry are the
torch bearers in the field of Hybrid cars, but now it is observed that almost all the players are taking
initiative to harness the huge untapped potential in this field. This report contains a detailed Market
survey of the emerging new technologies and players in the field of Hybrid cars.

At the global level U.S leads the Hybrid car sales; second spot is shared by Japan and Europe. This
report also throws some light on the policies undertaken worldwide by various governments to
promote usage of green cars. The report also contains a forecast of future of Hybrid market worldwide
and country level. The economic and the environmental benefits of the Hybrid car, the hurdles in the
rise in the Hybrid cars are also covered in the report. Forecasting is done taking into consideration
the current market slowdowns and the expected future positive developments in the market. The more
fuel efficient and the cost effective models launched by Toyota and Honda and also the initiatives
taken by the government worldwide remain key factors in the development of Hybrid cars as the most
viable solution to the current environmental problems and depleting fuel resources.
A Insight into the history of the Hybrid cars

The Hybrid car has finally leaded to the ends meet wherein everyone consumes fewer amounts of fuel
and thus contributing in the reduction of air pollution. The rapid advancements taking place in the field
of Gasoline engine has lead to the increased popularity of Hybrid cars. Hybrid cars use two power
sources, one recharge and another fuel driven to drive the internal combustion engine. This leads to
less consumption of fuel and air pollution.

The credit of invention of the concept of Hybrid car goes to Ferdinand Porsche. He was the one who
made the first Hybrid electric vehicle way back in 1989. Following his footsteps many people have
pursued their interest in the field of Hybrid vehicles. However till twentieth century none of the major
car manufacturers neither invested in the field of Hybrid cars nor produced them in mass quantity.
From its invention till the twentieth century the hybrid technology was mainly used in the submarines
operating on diesel and electricity. The submarines operating on both diesel and electricity functions
very much the same as the hybrid car. However the main difference was that in submarine the main
motive was to conserve as much oxygen in the submarine rather than to cut on the usage of gasoline
as in the case of Hybrid car. Now nuclear submarines have evolved and they have substituted the
diesel –electric submarines.

Victor Wouk, an idealistic inventor is the father of today’s modern hybrid car. He was the one who
instead of focusing on making a complete electric car came up with a brilliant idea of combining low
emission benefits of a electric car and the huge power generating capacity of a gasoline engine. At
that Wouk did not get any encouragement to his ideas. He was heavily criticized from the idea of
building a car fully operated on electricity. Wouk along with his colleague, Charlie Rosen stated a
company to develop on their new Hybrid car idea and to make the hybrid car very much similar to the
ones running everyday on the busy streets of America but emitted fat less air pollutants than the
conventitional vehicles.

In the late 19th century the Honda Insight and the Toyota Pirus emerged as the first two successful
Hybrid cars ,they were the pioneers in the concept of hybrid cars .With their looks and Technology
superiority they introduced a new dimension in the automobile industry called the Hybrid cars. It is
true that the conventional and the older versions of the Hybrid car looked like alien and were
extremely bulky and high priced. But new technology has now enabled the manufacturers to design
and build Hybrid cars that closely resemble the conventitional gasoline cars and also cut down on the
cost involved in building a Hybrid car. In fact modern Hybrid car looks very much like a conventional
gasoline car plus the reduced emissions coupled with fuel consumption is reduced by a whopping
50%. For Example, Honda Civic hybrid model which in appearance is very similar to the conventional
version one gives an average of 50 miles per gallon. Ever since its launch Toyota Pirus has remained
the premium choice among the Hybrid cars. During Year 2004 Ford also entered the Hybrid car
segments with the launch of Model Ford Escape, a hybrid SUV, a first of its kind. A year later Toyota
also came up with a Hybrid SUV called highlander. Nissan is now planning to introduce a Hybrid
version of the Model Nissan Altima in the market. The growing demand and the popularity of the
Hybrid car have forced other manufacturers to follow the footsteps of other auto giants who already
have launched a version in the hybrid car market.

Working of a Hybrid car: A Glimpse

In simple terms a Hybrid car makes use of both electricity and gasoline to power the car. When the
car is in idling mode at the petrol station or at a traffic junction the gasoline engine shuts off .The car is
then purely running on the support of the electric motor. This can explain the high fuel efficiency of the
Hybrid car compared to the gasoline car. Also as the operation on the electric motor is smooth
process, that’s why Hybrid cars are generally very quiet on roads. Once the accelerator is pressed
again, the internal combustion engine automatically takes over.
 Fig 1 Fig 2

Figure 1 shows how the Internal Combustion engine, Generator, Power spilt Device, Electric motor
are linked to each to other in hybrid vehicle, while figure 2 shows a schematic representation of the
transfer of power in a Hybrid vehicle during motion. There are Hybrid cars which operate purely on
electricity and use internal combustion engine as a backup or for recharging the batteries. However
the limitation is that they are useful only for local travels. For long travels it is advisable to keep fuel as
a backup. Most Hybrid cars developed today use Kinetic energy generated in breaking for charging
the batteries; they don’t need to be plugged in like electric car.

To summarise Hybrid car consists of batteries for the storage of energy, fuel tank for the storage of
fuel which is very essential in long drives, internal combustion engine to generate power to propel the
vehicle and electric motor.

Types of Hybrid cars

Parallel hybrid: Parallel Hybrid primarily consists of single electric motor and internal combustion
engine. The two engines either operate individually or together to provide power. The gear box,
electric motor and the internal combustion engine are engaged with each other with the help of clutch.
While in idling condition or when the car is running on the electric motor the clutch is engaged with the
electric motor .When in need of high power the clutch is coupled with the internal combustion engine,
while the electric motor remains idle. Honda Insight is the first produced and widely popular vehicle in
this category.

Fig 3 Honda Insight

Mild Parallel Hybrid: A compact electric motor generally having a capacity of <20 KW is used to
assist degenerative breaking, extra power assist required during start and acceleration. Honda Civic
hybrid, General motors’ SAS Hybrid, Mercedes Benz S400 Blue Hybrid are the few vehicles belonging
to this vehicles power train configuration.

Power split or series –parallel Hybrid: It consists of electric motor, internal combustion engine and
power splitter. The main job of the power splitter is to distribute the power from the engines to the
wheels. The power distributed can range from 0-100% for the internal combustion engine as well as
electric motor. It can be also in midway like 20% from electric motor and the rest 80% from the
internal combustion engine. The usage typically depends upon the geographical conditions in which
the car is operating and the energy usage. For example in city limits , power is more preferred in order
to accelerate , overtake hence in city limits the major chunk of power is derived from the internal
combustion engine. While on a long flat Highway where we can drive at a constant speed for long
distance or when the car is in idling condition we can use electric motor to generate power. The world
renowned Toyota Pirus, the Ford escape, the Lexus G540 and L3600 have this power engine
configuration.

Fig 4 Toyota Pirus

Series Hybrid: A series Hybrid is also called as extended range Electric vehicle. Here there is no
interaction between the electric motor and the internal combustion engine as such. The engine is
operated to recharge the batteries when their present level is not sufficient to meet the power
demand. Chevy Volt from GM expected to be launched in 2010 is series hybrid.

Fig 5 Chevy Volt

Plug in Hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV): It can be a series or parallel built. The main advantage of
PHEV over its siblings is its increased energy storage capacity due the usage of Li-ion batteries. It
also has the facility of connecting it to the main electric supply and getting it recharged. This is a
beneficial option for the people who want to cut down ICE usage. Honda Civic Hybrid belongs to this
category.

Fig 6 Honda Civic Hybrid

Fuel Cell- Electric Hybrid: A fuel cell hybrid consists of a fuel cell instead of ICE engine. A fuel cell
uses Hydrogen as the fuel. A fuel cell is used to power the electric battery when it’s depleting. Ford
Escape, Honda FCX is the vehicles in this production line.

Fig 7: The Ford Escape

Advantages of a Hybrid car over the conventional Gasoline engine cars

The growing environmental concerns have again revived the drive for the developments in the HEV
technology which was experiencing a lull since last hundred years since its innovation. The people
highly value the importance of a personal vehicle as a medium of transport. This gives an indication of
the huge target audience to which the Hybrid vehicle can cater. The HEV vehicle is more energy
efficient when compared to their conventional counterparts. The HEV vehicles give an efficiency of
about 46% in operation while compared to 18% of the conventional cars. The misconception that the
batteries utilize a large amount of energy has been proved wrong by numerous studies, which have
indicated that the batteries are at least 30% more efficient than the gasoline powered engines.The
comparison between HEV and the conventional vehicles is of that between the technology which is
new, innovative, a lot more efficient and offers a wider range of benefits to an technology which had
already reached its peak of innovation.
The advantages of a HEV over the Gasoline engine are as follows

Increased fuel efficiency: A Hybrid car uses both electric Motor and gasoline powered engine to run
the car. During the idling time the gasoline powered engine is taken over by the electric motor and
thus the extra amount o fuel spent during the idling time is saved .The HEV can cut about 50% of fuel
consumption.

Source of clean energy: It has been proved by the studies and research undertaken during the last
decade that the HEV emit far low toxic vapours than the conventional cars. This can help in certainly
addressing the environmental concern in a big way, as the transportation sector is the second largest
polluter in the world.

Reduced Noise pollution: A HEV is lot more quitter on roads than its counterparts.

Encouraging Government policies such as Tax incentives: Admitting the serious need of a clean
energy and alternative fuel source, The President of Government of United States, George Bush
declared a lot of tax incentives for the owner of Hybrid cars. The other benefits that the Government
offered included incentives like free parking , free entry to car pool lanes, discount on fees on toll
gates.

Sweden reported record sales in the sector of environmental friendly cars in the year 2007. The green
tax break of 10000 Kronor for the owner of HEV was the main contributing factor to the high sales of
environmental friendly cars. Andrew Carlgreen, The then Environmental Minister even quoted at the
press conference that Sweden was looking forward in taking the lead in Europe’s environmental
friendly car league. The decrease in the emission of CO2 from new cars has been the highest in
Sweden than any other European country; this confirms the firm stance taken by the Sweden
government.

India has also shown a keen interest in keeping a tap on the emissions by introducing tougher fuel
economy standards, offering financial tax incentives based upon the economy of the vehicle and the
amount of emissions. It has introduced a tax called Gas-guzzler tax on the inefficient cars.

Queuing up of manufacturers: This presents a bright prospects for the Hybrid car market, as this
ensure that the customers have enough choice to choose. The increased competition would lead to
the lowering of the car prices and also usher in new technological developments to address the
current problems faced by the Hybrid cars.

Disadvantages of the Hybrid cars

High initial cost: Because of the lack of Mass production and lack of attention given to the
development of the Hybrid technology by the investors the inital cost of the Hybrid car still remains
high compared to the conventional combustion engine cars of the same weight. But taking into
considerations the long terms benefits Hybrid car score high in terms of fuel efficiency, energy saving
and cutting down the fuel emissions. The market scenario is also rapidly changing with the increase in
the no of participants in the manufacturing of the Hybrid cars; in future this would certainly lead to
lowering of the cars prices to reasonable level.

Bulky: This is due to additional weight of the batteries and the electric motor.

Maintenance

1) In availability of service stations at near by convenience.

2) The Hybrid cars have complicated engine structure along with the operating of the engine is known
to only experience mechanics.
3) The electrical charges seem to malfunction at low temperatures.

4) The Metal Hybrid Batteries life depend upon their usage although Toyota Pirus promises a lifetime
battery but it is generally observed that a new battery has to installed after very 150k miles -200k
miles , but this is very healthy if we compare to average car battery life.

5) Replacements parts are very costly and also may not be available at each and every location.

Accidental Risk: In an event of accident there is risk of exposure to the high voltage wires this may
be potentially dangerous for the driver.

Major players in the Global Hybrid car market

Many car manufacturers have already recognised the huge potential of the hybrid cars and have
launched their own versions in the segment of Hybrid car. Toyota and Honda are the front runners in
this race, with Toyota having the majority of market share. Both Toyota and Honda have various
Models lined up in the years to come. GM and Ford have also entered the race with their Models.
Nissan is expected to join the race soon.

Competition Intensifies

Toyota’s dominance in the field of Green cars is under stiff competition from the rivals and is likely to
dwindle in the coming year’s .Ford and Honda has both adopted aggressive sales target for their
respective models. Honda Insight 2010 is well priced below 20,000$. Ford is trying to the attract the
power and style oriented customers with the launch of the Ford’s first Hybrid sedan The 2010 Ford
fusion Hybrid .Ford is also planning to double its production of Hybrid vehicles.

Future plans of the major players

Toyota: Toyota is panning to emphasize its output power system and to offer a full lineup of Hybrid
models. In the wake of increased competition from the rivals Toyota is planning to double its Hybrid
car lineup and has set an aggressive sales target of 1 million sales of per year for the year
2010.Toyota has recently developed a new drive system called the “Toyota Hybrid system” which it
plans to use in the new range of models offered including the SUV and a luxury car(Lexus).Toyota is
building an image and projecting itself as Green car manufacturer particularly in Europe to increase
its sales and to differentiate itself from the car manufacturers.

Honda: Honda is planning to introduce the Hybrid car concept in the small cars segment and target
the customers whose priority is more inclined towards economy than power. Already Honda has the
image of a fuel efficient car in the market. Honda uses the electric motor of capacity of 10kw-20kw
compared to the 2 motors each of 100kw capacity used by Toyota in a car. Honda battery also has
half the shell life as compared to that of the Toyota battery. Honda has also started initiative towards
the development of its “Fits” model which represents the fit compact car of future. However when it
comes to large and midsized car Honda is still in the favor of using the clean diesel engines to
improve the efficiency of the cars.

General Motors: GM is already in the process of developing three types of hybrid systems, the Light,
Medium –output and the high-output hybrid systems. Light hybrid would be used in Chevrolet
Silverado and Chevrolet Sierra. The Medium output called the BAS (Belt Alternator system) would be
used in sedans; while the high output system AHS2 (Advanced hybrid system 2) would be appearing
in large capacity vehicles like SUVs .ASH2 is developed in collaboration with Daimler And BMW. The
company is planning to launch its twelve already existing models ih hybrid version with majority of
them equipped with AHS2.
Ford: Ford set an ambitious sales target of around 250000 hybrid unit per year for the year 2010. As
the ford has a dominant presence in US in heavy car segment it can be assumed that the Ford would
be targeting introducing Hybrid technology in Heavy car as the American people generally prefer
power behind the wheels than to fuel efficiency.

The following table gives an idea about the existing and future Hybrid car models of the major
Automakers.

Fig 8 the details of the existing and future Hybrid car models of the major Automaker (Ref 1).

Who is the best?

With the progress of technology and science it has become possible for the manufacturers to cater to
the different taste and preferences of the customers and also the Hybrid cars are used in different
geographical conditions. The taste and preferences of the people also differ significantly around the
globe. Hence it is very difficult to declare among the Hybrid car which is the best and perfect.
However they can be classified into the broad categories and the best among those segments can be
chosen.

The Best Sedan Hybrid car was awarded to the latest Honda Civic (Ref 1).The new sporty and sleek
look along with the convenience and comfort differentiates it from the other Hybrid cars in this
category.
Ford Escape clinched the best Hybrid SUV award (Ref 1).

Honda insight got the award of the best fuel efficient car (Ref 1).

In overall performance, comfort, fuel efficiency and looks Toyota Pirus emerged as the best Hybrid
car (Ref 1).

The following table gives the comparison of mileages of leading Hybrid car models (Ref 2).

Miles Per Gallon – Average Miles Used Per gasoline of Fuel

· Honda Accord Hybrid – 28 MPG (city), 35 MPG (Highway) and 31 MPG (Combined Average)

· Honda Civic - 49 MPG (city), 51 MPG (Highway) and 50 MPG (Combined Average)

· Lexus GS 450H - 25 MPG (city), 28 MPG (Highway) and 26 MPG (Combined Average)

· Toyota Camry Hybrid - 40 MPG (city), 38 MPG (Highway) and 39 MPG (Combined Average)

· Toyota Prius - 60 MPG (city), 51 MPG (Highway) and 55 MPG (Combined Average)

Market Forecast

The sales of Hybrid car have almost doubled every year since 2000. Though the Hybrid car in the
current state occupy on 2% of the total car sales worldwide. The future tough environmental norms,
tax incentives offered by the government would usher in a new life in the development of hybrid
technology. The major Automakers have already announced their ambitious Hybrid car sales target
for the year 2010. GM has planned to launch 12 hybrid versions of its already existing models. Toyota
aims to achieve car sales of 1million per year in the year 2010. Honda has already invested a lot in
developing its new model “Fit” which represents the Hybrid model of the small cars. The entry of
Hybrid model in the small cars segment represents a huge potential for growth if the technological
developments allow bringing down the cost of the hybrid car to a reasonable level. China and India
are the leading countries in the small car sales segment. These are also the countries who recorded
the highest growth in Automobile sector. China has recorded around 40% percent growth in the sales
of the car in 2009 compared to the previous year. This represents that if a small car with Hybrid
technology which offers long term benefits and at a reasonable price compared to its conventional
internal combustion engine car, it would capture the chunk of the car market size in a very less time.
The major Auto carmakers in US have now shifted their attention towards manufacturing more fuel
efficient and green cars, almost all the major companies have launched their own version of Hybrid
car in the market to take the lead in the race. The US government has also declared various tax
incentives for the hybrid car owners like reduction of toll tax, free parking heavy cuts on auto tax. This
policies adopted by the government would certainly attract customers towards Hybrid car as such
policies would bring down the initial cost of purchasing a Hybrid car.

Based on the online Market survey carried out by NRI in Japan (Ref 1) it is estimated that the
domestic market of Hybrid cars in Japan would raise to 460,000 units. The same survey estimated
that the American and the European market would grow to 1.68 million and 50,000 units of Hybrid car
respectively by the year 2012. The Hybrid cars would account to around 6% of the total cars in US,
Japan and Europe. Europe has no speed limits and also the annual mileage of the Hybrids cars are
shorter than compared to that in US. In Europe the clean Diesel cars with high fuel economy will eat
the market of the Hybrid car.
 Fig 9 (Ref 1) Fig 10 (Ref 1)

From the Fig 10 (Ref 1) it can be seen that in 2012 the combined car market of Japan, Europe and
US would worth around 760 billion yen. This would result into the shifting of global focus from oil
industry to auto industry. Typically the Hybrid car Auto industry can be divided into four subset
industries namely the electric motors, inverters, electrical components and the conventional Auto
industry. The growth in one sector would transcend to the other industries as well. This represents a
huge potential for the growth of electronic and electric component industry. The combined value of the
Japan, US and Europe automotive parts market comes to around 60 trillion yen according to the
survey (Ref 1). The size of the lithium batteries which are heavily used in Hybrid cars for more energy
storage is already of 700 billion yen and with the growth expected in the sales of the Hybrid cars this
would raise by around 30%-40%.Therefore the Hybrid car market offers a lot of growth opportunities
for the lithium battery makers. For the electronic and electric component manufacturers the Hybrid car
offer very stable source of market, because it is generally observed that in the automobile market
once is absorbed it stays for a very long time as in the case of gasoline cars.Coversely if we think
from the car manufacturers point of view the increased competition among the components and
battery manufacturers would not only bring in technological innovation would also would lead to the
decrease in the prices of the components, thus ultimately decreasing the cost of manufacturing a car.

Hurdles in the progress of Hybrid car

High initial cost and Maintenance

The high initial price is the main hurdle in the progress of the Hybrid car. As the Hybrid technology
was not given much attention during the last century the cost involved in manufacturing the Hybrid car
is high due to the lack of technological innovation taken place in this field. This is also due to that fact
that batteries for electric motors involved in the manufacturing of a Hybrid car are highly priced and
the electronic components manufacturers have a monopoly in this field as they are limited. It should
also be noted that the process of integrating these components with the conventional gasoline engine
is also a very complex process. Skilled manpower and resources are required for this purpose. But
now with the queuing of the Automobile manufacturers to develop and launch their own Hybrid
version the road ahead seems quite bright for the hybrid car. With the growth in the number of
manufacturers in the automobile Hybrid car sector will not only lead to the decline of the prices to
reasonable level but would also usher in a whole new technological innovations that can cater to the
different taste and preferences of the different people. This can lead to the expansion of targeted
buyers of the Hybrid car. This would help to extend the product line and product depth of the Hybrid
car thus strengthening the penetration power of the Hybrid car in the market. In the survey carried out
by NRI in Japan in 2006 (Ref 1), it was observed that the 40% of the people was of the opinion that
they would not consider buying a Hybrid car having a cost differential of more than 200000 yen than
its conventional counterpart. It was also observed that the satisfaction among the Hybrid car users
was very high in terms of quietness, fuel economy and comfort of driving. The satisfaction was also
with the fact that the acceleration was increased to about 20% than the previous year’s model, but the
satisfaction was very low when it comes to maintenance. The electronic components of the car are
very costly and when damaged only the skilled people in the field can diagnose the problem. The cost
of changing the battery of Hybrid car after few years is around 100000 yen (Ref 1).This problem would
be solved with the gradually with the growth in the sales of the Hybrid car. As a result the increased
competition in the electronic components manufacturers would help to bring about innovations in the
Hybrid technology in the areas such as power of the electric motors and acceleration of the Hybrid
cars which is low compared to the conventional cars. These mutual benefits would make it possible to
extend the experiences of Hybrid car to the customers at affordable prices.

Low awareness among the people about the Hybrid car

There is a big need of infusing the advantages of the Hybrid car in the mind of the people. The low
awareness about the Hybrid car among the people has hampered the progress of the Hybrid
technology substantially. Though the Government policies such as Tax rebates, free parking,
discounts on toll tax etc have contributed to a great extent in creating a visibility of the Hybrid car in
the market. Automobiles manufacturers already in the line of manufacturing Hybrid car should take an
initiative in the promotion of Hybrid technology through their advertisements and the CSR activities.
Government should also encourage the organisation of events and programmes that help in
spreading the awareness about the advantages of the Hybrid cars. In the online survey done By NRI
(Ref 1) it was observed that only 55% of the conventional car drivers know about Hybrid car. It is
necessary to educate the remaining 45% about Hybrid cars as they can be the potential customers of
Hybrid car in future.

The conventional mindset of the people

It is generally found that the technology which gets absorbed in the market is there to stay for a long
time. This is absolutely true in Automobile sector. During the last century people have become so
used to the gasoline engine that it is hard for them to imagine that there are other sources of energy
which are renewable, cleaner and readily available that can drive their cars. The high initial cost of the
Hybrid car makes it even more difficult for the people to take risk of shifting to a Hybrid car. Also it
would take time for the people to trust the Hybrid technology as it is very new in the market. The high
degree of uncertainty among the car drivers about the purchase of a Hybrid car can be removed by
publishing the experiences of already Hybrid car owners. Entry of Hybrid technology in small car
segment would definitely open a new domain for expansion for the Hybrid car. The prime factor being
the cost the small hybrid car would be obliviously priced well below the heavy hybrid car like SUVs.
This would ensure that the technology oriented high middle class technology oriented would think of
Hybrid car as an option before going for a car sale. As discussed earlier Honda has already started
the development of compact size Hybrid car.
Future of hybrid technology

Hybrid technology basically represents a cross-between two technologies. The concept of Hybrid
technology can be extended to other renewable energy resources also like Geo-thermal, Wind, Tidal
solar etc apart from electric energy. Also with the conventional energy resources depleting hybrid
technology has the potential of expanding into other product segments apart from automobile
industry.

Conclusion:

Hybrid car represents the future of automobile industry. It is the latest breakthrough in technology in
the automobile industry. This car can save a lot of money on fuel due to its excellent fuel economy
coupled with lower emissions and quieter functioning. Thus Hybrid car offer a lot more as compare to
the conventional cars. It is now the fact that the Hybrid car are getting a lot more popular with the
passage of time in fact during the last few years the Hybrid car sales have almost doubled per year.
The typical Hybrid car is priced around as much as 30000$. The initial cost of the Hybrid car though
may seem higher at the first instance, but if we look at the long term benefits it is a very little
investment. Also on the purchase of the Hybrid car the owner can enjoy tax rebates, free parking and
discount on toll tax in US and Europe.

A Hybrid car is the combination of both electric car and the gasoline powered engine. It can operate
on both the electric motor and the internal combustion engine depending on the intensity of usage of
power. The hybrid car is low when compared with conventional ICE car in terms of power generated
and acceleration. With the technological developments taking place at a advanced pace in the field of
Hybrid car the acceleration in the models have been increased by about 30% of the previous models.
The high maintenance coat hurts the Hybrid car owner but if we closely look the Hybrid car battery
needs to be changed after 100k-200k miles which is way too better when compared to the batteries of
the conventional cars. With the rush of automobile manufacturers in the production of hybrid vechiles
it is most possible that the increased competition would bring about a lot of technological growth and
bring down the prices of the Hybrid car. In 2012 the combined Hybrid car market of US, Japan and
Europe would grow to around 760 billion yen. As the growth of the automobile sector would transcend
to its subsets sectors like electronic components industry the mutual benefits would bring about the
decrease in the price of the Hybrid car electric and electronic components thus bringing the down the
cost of maintenance.

Huge efforts of car dealers offering consulting services to the conventional ICE car user is required to
bring about the growth of Hybrid car at a much faster rate. This can happen only if The electric motor
manufactures and the Automobile car manufacturers work in collaboration with each other. Motor
manufacturers do not have the required expertise to manufacture the electric motor and the electronic
components on their own , neither the electric components manufacturers have the proper visibility of
the car market not can they forecast the demand of the car users. Even if the electric motor
manufacture start a entire unit dedicated to the innovations pertaining to the automobile sector it has
got no use unless it is not tested for its compatibility with the ICE engine. Hence with the exchange of
knowledge and resources both sectors can mutually benefit from each other. This would make
possible for the hybrid technology to enter the small car market, which is the future of the whole
automobile industry. At the current state the hybrid car industry is growing at a hefty rate and soon
with the entry of the Hybrid car in the small car segment this future car would become the people’s
first choice.
References

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