A recent report by Pike Research suggests that cumulative sales of hybrid vehicles in the fleet sector will total nearly four million vehicles worldwide between 2009 and 2015.
The market intelligence firm suggests that hybrid fleet sales will increase from around 300,000 in 2009 to more than 830,000 in 2015 with the largest growth expected in medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses.
According to the firm’s managing director Clint Wheelock, North America will be the leading region in terms of hybrid fleet penetration with hybrids expected to reach eight per cent of all fleet sales over the next five years. Governments, universities and utility companies are expected to be among the early adopters; while Asia Pacific will be the leader in terms of unit volumes by that time with 420,000 fleet hybrids sold each year.
The success of hybrids is expected to be spurred by companies needing to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions. Fleet managers are currently searching for the best ways to achieve both goals, which has prompted further investigation into electric vehicles. Hybrid electric vehicles meanwhile, offer lower emissions and better fuel economy – typically 10-40 per cent higher than comparable internal combustion engines. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles then represent the next step.
Plug-in hybrid programmes are expected to initially focus on the small car segment – this area will account for 82 per cent of sales in 2013. This area will not meet the needs of fleet customers, but medium- and heavy-duty trucks will also receive plug-in treatments helping the numbers to grow over time. Costs will remain an issue however, as trucks will require much larger capacity batteries.
