Report Buyer has added a new report providing an extensive view of the latest Hybrid vehicle technology and gives details of strategies for all the major OEM’s (original equipment manufacturers). It looks at hybrid incentive schemes and provides regional market analysis for North America, Europe and Japan.

According to the Hybrid Vehicles and Components Report, one of the primary driving forces behind the production of hybrid vehicles has been the tightening of global emission regulations. The need for fuel efficiency has moved from being a consumer based motivation to an environmental concern that requires regulation, not only to combat pollution from noxious gases, but to limit the transport contribution to CO2 output partly responsible for global warming and to provide a route to moving away from strategic dependence on oil.

Hybrid vehicles as we know them today were launched on the market by Toyota in Japan in 1997 and this was followed quickly by the arrival of the Honda Insight into the US. Since then gasoline electric hybrid vehicles have become a part of the automotive landscape with virtually all the major OEMs in either the market or working towards model launch. At the end of 2008 there had been some 34 models ranging from the full hybrid Prius to the mild hybrid Mercedes S Class. Total hybrid global sales are now estimated at around 500,000, with more than 350,000 hybrids sold during 2007 in the US alone before the market fell to just over 300,000 units in 2008.

Hybrid Vehicles and Components Report

Report Buyer product ID: SUB00081

Report Buyer Category: Automotive