Just how much of an impact will fuel cell vehicles make on the market in the next 10 years? A new report from Pike Research has examined the issue.
It suggests that fuel cell vehicles will be commercially launched in most regions by 2014 and that cumulative sales of light duty fuel cell cars and trucks will pass the 2.8million vehicle mark globally by 2020.
The report suggests that research into fuel cell vehicles will reach $4billion this year and will climb to $5.3billion globally by 2016. Spending is expected to grow rapidly between 2015 and 2016 with automakers committing to introducing vehicles to the marketplace.
Pike Research also suggests that annually light vehicle fuel cell sales will total 669,597 by 2020 with Western Europe likely to lead the charge of sales with a 37 per cent share of the world market. The Asia Pacific region will be close behind, accounting for 36 per cent of sales; while North American sales will make up around 25 per cent of the total. Despite North America having a smaller share of the market overall, the US is still expected to be the largest single country market for fuel cell vehicles with China and Germany close behind.
The research also outlines five car manufacturers that are expected to lead the way for fuel cell vehicle sales – Daimler, Honda, General Motors, Hyundai and Toyota. Currently, it is these manufacturers that have the largest fleets of fuel cell vehicles.
According to Dave Hurst of Pike Research, fuel cell vehicles should receive “substantial support from the largest automakers” and now the pressure is on both governments and gas companies to ensure hydrogen fuelling stations are in place to support the emerging market.
