Micro-hybrid vehicles are projected to achieve global sales of three million by the end of the year, rising to 34 million by the middle of the decade a new report forecasts.
According to research from emerging technologies expert firm Lux Research, this breed of semi-hybridised vehicles ,which use stop-start and energy recouping technologies to boost fuel efficiency, the market for micro-hybrids will expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 57.5 per cent over the next five years, reaching over US$2.7 billion in 2015.
The report, titled “Micro-hybrids: On the Road to Hybrid Vehicle Dominance,” examines the overall market for micro-hybrids – a term that refers to how extensively the vehicle uses electricity, rather than its size. Unlike conventional hybrid vehicles or plug-in hybrids, which apply energy storage toward propulsion, micro-hybrids apply it more modestly for start-stop and/or regenerative braking applications. As a result, rather than using high-end nickel-metal hydride or lithium-on batteries, they use instead on more cheaper energy storage solutions, such as flooded lead-acid (FLA) batteries, enhanced flooded batteries (EFBs), adsorbed glass mat batteries (AGM), and advanced lead-acid systems that often include ultracapacitors. This means that they can mimic some of the fuel saving advantages of hybrid vehicles without significantly increasing their price-tag over a conventionally-powered vehicle.
“Micro-hybrids’ more modest use of electricity has led some purists to dismiss them as a suitable alternative to gas-powered cars. Yet they represent the most cost-effective route to achieving regulatory carbon emission and mileage goals,” said Jacob Grose, a Senior Analyst at Lux Research and the report’s lead author. “We expect that, by the middle of this decade, 37 per cent of the new passenger vehicles sold throughout the world will be micro-hybrids.”
As part of the analysis, Europe is projected to be at the forefront of micro-hybrid adoption thanks to its aggressive regulations governing emissions. In Europe alone, sales of micro-hybrid vehicles will have reached 2.8 million units by the end of the year and are on track to grow to 10.5 million by 2015 – representing a CAGR of 30 per cent, by which time micro-hybrids will comprise 64% of European auto sales.
