Comparing technological advancement of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) in different market segments

Abstract

The Toyota Prius was first introduced in 1997 and since then over 150 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have been brought to the automobile market around the world. This was spurred by a major interest in the future of vehicles using 'alternative fuel' for addressing environmental and fuel dependency concerns. Based upon previous work. 11An early version of this study was presented at the Portland International Conference on the Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET '13) and published in the Proceedings [1]., which identified an input-output model that could successfully explain the progress of HEV technologies, this study evaluates and compares the technological advancement observed in different HEV market segments over the past 15. years. The results indicate that the introduction of a wide range of midsize HEVs is posing a threat to the two-seaters and compact HEV segments while an SUV segment shows a fast adoption with a significant performance improvement. The rates of change for each segment are also provided to give insights into the estimation of the future performance levels for new product development target setting purposes. •The technological advancement of the hybrid electric vehicle market segments is evaluated and compared.•Midsize segment is posing a threat to the two-seaters and compact hybrid electric vehicle segments.•The sport utility vehicle segment shows the fastest adoption with a significant performance improvement.•The large vehicle segment targets a luxury market while pickup trucks show a steady progress. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.