20% Rise In Hybrid Sales Predicted

That closing comment/question is the key.

I'd think the introduction of plug-in models helps to push the regulars further into the mainstream, with that impression of them being well proven at this point.

Time will tell... specifically, 2013. That's going to be a big year.

 

Wrt to the 2011-2015 Global Hybrid Car Market growth potential, the poor general outlook for our global economic market is likely to prevent gasoline prices from going too much higher. With the tax revenues down government incentives to promote fuel efficiency will be limited. Given the poor general state of the global economy - more people are likely to hold back on buying motor vehicles so the overall motor vehicle market will likely experience only moderate growth. The high price of hybrid technology and alternative energy technology have dampen sales for most alternative energy vehicles except for the Toyota Prius. To keep sales up and prices low, Toyota hopes to expand their market share of the Prius by scaling down their hybrid technology to make it more affordable (e.g. Prius c) while achieving the same overall high fuel efficiency has its standard flagship hybrid the Prius hatchback. The Prius c is squarely position to grab the market share of Honda's Insight. Honda will need to do a major redesign of the Insight to keep it viable. At the same time Toyota has expanded the Prius line into the crossover market of the Ford Escape Hybrid. Ford's response has been to drop the Ford Escape's outdated version of the Hybrid and replace it with the C-Max - which basically is a Prius v with a bigger powerplant and a better Li-ion battery. The other motor vehicle nich market which will likely get a boost from the current down economy and Smart Growth (revitalization of urban areas) is the sub-compact (B-segment) market which will keep sales for vehicles like the BMW's mini-cooper, Honda Fit, and the Hyundai Accent healthy.