Hybrid, Battery Car Demand Overhyped, J.D. Power Says
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Demand for hybrid cars and electric vehicles may be more modest than advocates for those fuel-saving technologies expect, capturing only 7.3 percent of global sales by 2020, according to a forecast by J.D. Power & Associates.
Combined deliveries of hybrids, such as Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius, and battery-powered cars including Nissan Motor Co.’s Leaf may reach 5.2 million units that year, out of an estimated 70.9 million passenger vehicle sales, J.D. Power said in the study released today. That falls short of Nissan-Renault Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn’s prediction that electric cars alone will be 10 percent of global sales by 2020.