Electric Vehicles Market (2012 – 2017)

Low emission vehicles are expected to witness good growth as they are being accepted across the globe. Currently, low emission market is dominated by Full Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FHEVs) and expected to remain as market leader during the forecasted period. The market of North America is expected to be the biggest one for FHEVs. However, our research says that market for PHEVs and BEVs will develop at a faster rate due to governments’ initiatives to develop charging infrastructure in battery technology. The governments of Europe and China are promoting BEVs due to presence of competitive advantages over the other countries. China can shift to electric vehicle propulsion technology faster than its counterparts due to its ability to heavily invest in its development. Europe is already well equipped when it comes to charging infrastructure for EVs.

The most widely used batteries for low emission vehicle market are lead-acid batteries, Nickel-Cadmium batteries (NiCad), metal hydride batteries (NimH), and lithium ion batteries. Till date, the mass produced FHEV cars have been powered by nickel metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries. However, there are certain noticeable rapid shifts in consumption pattern of batteries used for HEVs. Due to high energy density of lithium ion battery, loads of FHEV manufacturers such as Honda Motors (Japan) and Ford Motors (Germany) will be switching over to the lithium ion battery for FHEV. As an outcome, lithium ion battery is expected to capture the lion’s share in automotive battery market by 2017.

The global low emission vehicle market was valued $21.13 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow from $27.45 billion in 2012 to $103.13 billion by 2017 at an estimated CAGR of 30.3% from 2012 to 2017. 826.8 thousand low emission vehicle were shipped on a global level for 2011 and the number is expected to reach 3532.1 thousand by 2017, at an estimated CAGR of 27.8% from 2012 to 2017.

For the low emission vehicle market, increase in the global price of petroleum-based fuel; rise in the number of initiatives taken by different governments, ever-increasing availability of different HEV models, and continuous development in battery technology are acting as drivers. Lack of support infrastructure, power, performance, and higher cost as compared to ICE-vehicle end-user segments are acting as restraints. Charging infrastructure market and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology are the future opportunities for low emission vehicle market.

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