Most companies are hedging their bets and spreading funding across a wide range of areas, with ICE downsizing and plug-in hybrids expected to receive the greatest investment over the next 5 years. OEM’s are allocating a higher proportion of their resources into hybrids (either plug-in or pure), with just 8 percent investing primarily in battery technology.
The survey responses confirm that the ICE will remain the dominant powertrain for some time. Two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents believe e-vehicles will represent just 15 percent or less of total new car sales by 2025. Nevertheless, this still represents potential sales of up to 5.7 million in China, 2.5 million in India, 3.8 million in the US and 2.1 million in Western Europe.
Forty-one percent of executives taking part in the survey believe that government subsidies are needed if e-vehicles are to become affordable.