Boulder, Colorado – Company and government fleets looking for ways to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions will be among the most ardent early adopters of commercial hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), according to a new study by U.S. market research and consulting firm Pike Research.
The study says that global hybrid fleet sales will surpass 830,000 vehicles in 2015, up from 280,000 in 2008. Next-generation plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will represent 21 per cent of total hybrid fleet sales in 2015.
“Hybrids provide an opportunity for fleets to become leaner and greener,” said Pike managing director Clint Wheelock. “However, one key barrier to adoption is that fleet managers’ access to HEVs has been limited, as manufacturers are focused mainly on small consumer vehicles due to the prohibitive cost of larger batteries. Additionally, government incentives and tax breaks do little to stimulate adoption of commercial hybrids, due to fleet operators’ heavy reliance on leasing rather than purchasing.”
Pike said that it expects the government, university and utility sectors will be among the first to adopt commercial hybrids, especially among fleets with a mix of cars and trucks, such as municipal governments.
