Market for Hybrids - Set to grow

1. Since the successful launch of Toyota Prius, a number of players in the western automobile industry have been making efforts to launch hybrid cars. What are the reasons that are prompting them to look towards hybrids?

Looking at the challenges in the various world markets the hybrid technology is providing a substantial contribution to their solutions. It is improving fuel economy and emission. As there is a market request for hybrids building up product offers are created.

2. Though automakers are making huge investments in the hybrid technology, the growth in the demand for hybrids has been slow. What could be the possible reasons for this?

In Europe the availability of highly fuel efficient diesel cars is giving an attractive alternative to hybrid vehicles. In the USA the hybrid technology is favourised by legislation but these laws are generating a limited demand in comparison to the overall US market.

3. Are European automakers getting serious about hybrid technology?

We can only talk for the BMW Group of course. The BMW Group has been developing hybrid research vehicles for over 15 years to investigate the market maturity of the components. In the recent years we have identified significant technical advances. These steps will make the hybrid technology seriously interesting for a market introduction within the next years. The Two-Mode-Hybrid system we develop together with our partners from DaimlerChrysler and General Motors will have significant advantages in weight, dynamics and efficiency compared to current systems.

4. What are the technical challenges that automakers face while manufacturing hybrids?

With the Two-Mode-Hybrid system that we are developing in cooperation with General Motors and DaimlerChrysler we have made a significant step on the transmission and electronic side. However, we believe that reliable high-performance electrical storage systems such as batteries and super capacitors will be the major challenge for customer ready products in the midterm future.

5. There seems to be a growing demand for other environment-friendly vehicles like cars that run on ultra-low-sulphur diesel. How does this affect the market for hybrids?

Adding hybrid technologies to our product portfolio makes us flexible in reacting to different consumer demands and legislations throughout the world. In Europe, our high performance Diesels are extremely successful in the market place. Hybrid technology and Diesel are not a contradiction; it is certainly thinkable that we will see Diesel Hybrids in the future. Our vision for a sustainable mobility is hydrogen fuelling an internal combustion engine. Again, a hydrogen engine hybrid is a feasible combination.

6. How important is the government support for automakers to make sure that hybrids have greater demand and are more affordable to people?

We do not understand the role of politics as to promote defined technologies. Hence, we see it as a responsibility of the car industry to contribute to the overall aim of reducing CO2 emissions by implementing the respective innovative technology. For some markets this will mean ultra efficient petrol cars, for others it will be Diesel, and in the future also hydrogen. Hybrid technologies can be combined with either technology.

7. Do you think hybrids are transitional technology giving way to other vehicles, which will completely run on other forms of energy like electricity?

We rather follow the concept of electrifying parts of the drive train. We do not consider an electric car to be a satisfying solution for our customers due to weight, driving dynamics, autonomy restrictions and technical maturity. Our future perspective is described by our CleanEnergy strategy promoting hydrogen burned in an internal combustion engine. This technology offers our customers the well known dynamics of a BMW but reduce emissions drastically. Hydrogen internal combustion engines certainly can be combined with hybrid technologies.

8. How do you see the market for hybrids in the coming future across the world?

We expect a growing demand for hybrid cars and are optimistic to attract customers to our interpretation of a dynamic yet fuel efficient.