03-25-2005, 02:14 PM
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GreenHybrid Founder
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Real Name: Jason Siegel
Location: Houston, TX
Hybrids: 2004 Toyota Prius
Posts: 4,594
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How big is the hybrid market? It depends whom you ask
Quote:
Long-term customer demand for hybrids is difficult to predict.
Estimates of annual U.S. hybrid sales in 2010 run from a conservative 535,000 by J.D. Power and Associates to 3.5 million in a Booz Allen Hamilton forecast.
In 2004, the U.S. market totaled 16.9 million vehicles.
J.D. Power's forecast assumes a $4,000 premium for a hybrid vehicle. The Booz Allen Hamilton forecast assumes price parity when hybrids achieve high volumes and economies of scale.
Another confusing factor: Both projections include so-called "mild" hybrids, which use a device that merely stops the engine when the vehicle stops. In true hybrids, electric motors provide propulsion.
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- http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102021
It appears the author is mislead about what a mild hybrid is. Honda's IMA system is mild, yet the motor does provide propulsion. There are three types of hybrids: full, mild and another that I don't believe has been given a name. The current pickups fall under this third category that is what the author thought was a "mild" hybrid.
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