Emerging Trends Essays -- Transportation, Electric Vehicles

Many people have the idea that HEVs and electric vehicles are recent phenomenon. But the history of HEVs goes way back. According to Rahman (2008), the production of HEVs dates back to the early 1900s, when Ferdinand Porsche from Lohner Coach Factory developed the Mixte, which was a 4WD series-hybrid version of "System Lohner-Porsche". In order to extend operating range, the vehicle included two generators driven by 2.5-hp Daimler IC engines enabling it to cover almost 65 km on battery alone. It had a top speed of 50 km/h and a power of 5.22 kW during 20 minutes. Since then there has been various attempts by many other innovators to come up with a mass product of hybrid vehicle although there was no study that shows the demand for the products. A more recent working prototype of the Hybrid electric vehicle was built by Victor Wouk, who worked on HEVs for decades in the 60’s and 70’s. His innovative work earned him the title as the "Godfather of the Hybrid"(Woku & Goodstein, 2004). His major work that was considered innovative was the installation of a prototype hybrid drive train of a 16 kilowatts (21 hp) electric motor into a 1972Buick Skylark and was part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Federal Clean Car Incentive Program that continued till 1976. The involvement of the United States government in the quest for the development and use of fuel efficient vehicles is an important part of HEVs history and development in USA. Several programs and initiatives were launched at different times. An important program that played a role in the history of HEVs in the United States was initiated in early 1990s. On a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report to congress, Sissine (1996) presented that on 29 September... ...U.S. market and U.S. companies have been globalized as well. The big Japanese car manufacturers, Honda and Toyota, entered the U.S. market in early 1980’s. Ever since, they have witnessed the growth of their market share while the ‘big three’ faced declining shares. Bradley et al. (2005) argued that the variation between rivals in terms of cultures and related philosophies has intensified rivalry in the industry. This rivalry is more intensified by high fixed costs associated with manufacturing and the low switching costs for consumers to buy different brand or model (Bradley et al., 2005, p.3). Rivalry and competition within the industry in the U.S. is becoming concentrated. The industry in the U.S. is no longer dominated by the Big 3. In the field of HEVs, the upper hand is hold by Toyota to a large extent followed by other international and local manufacturers.