“The biggest growth categories for fleet hybrids are medium/heavy duty trucks and buses,” Clint Wheelock, Pike Research managing director said in a release.
“Manufacturers are beginning to turn their attention beyond light duty vehicles to the efficiency opportunities for hybrid drive in heavy trucks. For example, in North America nearly 10% of buses sold in 2015 will be hybrids.”
The study, called “Hybrid Electric Vehicles for Fleet Markets,” took into account the challenges HEVs and PHEVs around the world, regardless of the shape they take: light cars, trucks and medium/heavy duty truck.
On the other hand, Pike also looked into global growth drivers and business case considerations for fleet managers and is a detailed 7-year market forecasts for automotive suppliers.
At the forefront of the hybrid fleet sales will be the US, with 8 percent of all fleet sales in the next five years. The first to adopt the new vehicles will be government, university, and utility company fleets.
In terms of units sold, the Asia Pacific region will be leader, accounting for some 420,000 fleet hybrids sold per year.
The study concludes that most fleet managers have already put together a business case for vehicles (acquisition costs, fuel costs, maintenance, and residual value), despite the fact that a cost for emissions is yet to be adopted by the majority.
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