How Big is the Hybrid Car Market?

Long-term customer demand for hybrids is difficult to predict. Estimates of annual U.S. hybrid sales in 2010 run from a conservative 535,000 by J.D. Power and Associates to 3.5 million in a Booz Allen Hamilton forecast.
In 2004, the U.S. market totaled 16.9 million vehicles. J.D. Power’s forecast assumes a $4,000 premium for a hybrid vehicle. The Booz Allen Hamilton forecast assumes price parity when hybrids achieve high volumes and economies of scale. Another confusing factor: Both projections include so-called “mild” hybrids, which use a device that merely stops the engine when the vehicle stops. In true hybrids, electric motors provide propulsion.

More at Mixed Power