One in Five Cars to Be a Hybrid by 2020

At least, this is what the auto analysts over at JPMorgan predicted. According to a recent study they rolled out, the global market for hybrid vehicles is going to explode in the next few years, as the economic recession will continue to pile up the pressure on global automakers. As a result, car manufacturer will turn to hybrid models, which would be regarded as the best choice for a new car, unless the petrol prices will go down again.

Getting back to the forecasts, JPMorgan says that the United States is going to meet an impressive increase in hybrid models, with this particular sector to total around 11.28 million vehicles by 2020. This means hybrid sales will grow by around 20 percent, with one in five cars sold in the country to represent a hybrid.

Last year, hybrids accounted for only 0.7 percent of global sales, with 480,000 units delivered worldwide. But things are going to change in the next 12 years, JPMorgan said, with hybrid deliveries to achieve 13.3 percent of global sales.

Some manufacturers are still reticent when it comes to hybrid development, mostly due to the high costs required by development and production. That won't be the case by 2020, the analysts noted, as batteries and powerplants are going to become cheaper as automakers develop new systems. In 2008, producing a hybrid unit could cost a manufacturer around $5,667 but, by 2020, it is expected to drop to no more than $1,890, bringing it closer to petrol-powered vehicles, as Autonews wrote.

Overall, this could be only good news for automakers on one hand, as they will be able to sell more despite the difficult economic environment, and for hybrid part suppliers on the other hand as their businesses are expected to grow through a number of partnerships with global manufacturers.