Sales of hybrid medium- and heavy-duty trucks are on course to top 100,000 annually by 2017, according to a report by Pike Research.
“Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid, and Battery Electric Medium and Heavy Trucks: Market Analysis and Forecasts” says that the increased demand for hybrid trucks is being led by, and will continue to be led by, a need for vehicles that can help mitigate the rising cost of diesel fuel while meeting increasingly strict emissions requirements. As the technology costs fall and diesel prices increase, hybrid trucks - defined as hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid, battery electric and plug-in electric power vehicles - are becoming increasingly better value for customers, the research says.
The global truck market is about 3.7 million vehicles this year and is expected to grow at a rate of 4.1 percent annually to reach 4.7 million by 2017, the report says.
Pike Research also expects that the use of nickel metal hydride batteries will peak in 2016, as vehicle manufacturers move their remaining systems toward lithium ion. Eventually, Pike says that it expects virtually all hybrid truck batteries to be lithium ion, as there is very little development work underway on other battery technologies in the medium or heavy-duty hybrid truck markets.
The lithium ion market is expected to reach 3.6 million kilowatt hours globally in the medium and heavy-duty truck markets by 2017, Pike says.
