Consultants Strategy Analytics predicts that the global demand for hybrid vehicles will grow from 335,000 units in 2005 to more than three million in 2013.

The predicted rise, which amounts to around four per cent of vehicle production around the world, was announced in a company report entitled "Hybrid Vehicles: Opportunity for Profits Through Electronics".

Hybrid vehicles are environmentally friendly because they cut fuel consumption significantly. They do this by running partly off an electric motor, which is charged up when the driver brakes.

Publications such as the Green Car Journal in the US and What Car? in the UK have praised hybrids for their contribution to lowering carbon dioxide emissions.

Strategy Analytics report author Mark Fitzgerald said he urged realism when assessing the market for hybrid vehicles, tmcnet.com reports. "That does not mean, however, that the hybrid vehicle market should be ignored," he noted.

"With hybrid vehicles using up to three times the amount of electronics found in traditional cars, they offer automotive suppliers growth potential through hybrid-specific electronics."


Ÿ Adfero Ltd