Abstract
One of the primary driving forces behind the production of hybrid vehicles has
been the tightening of global emission regulations. The need for fuel
efficiency has moved from being a consumer based motivation to an
environmental concern that requires regulation, not only to combat pollution
from noxious gases, but to limit the transport contribution to CO2 output -
partly responsible for global warming - and to provide a route to moving away
from strategic dependence on oil.
Hybrid vehicles as we know them today were launched on the market by Toyota in
Japan in 1997 and this was followed quickly by the arrival of the Honda
Insight into the US. Since then gasoline electric hybrid vehicles have become
a part of the automotive landscape with virtually all the major OEMs in either
the market or working towards model launch. At the end of 2008 there had been
some 34 models ranging from the full hybrid Prius to the mild hybrid Mercedes
S Class. Total hybrid global sales are now estimated at around 500,000 (not
including stopc¥start micro hybrids), with more than 350,000 hybrids sold
during 2007 in the US alone before the market fell to just over 300,000 units
in 2008.
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