Auto execs predict hybrid sales boom

Consumer interest in greener vehicles will continue to grow and hybrids will become an ever more important component of the global automotive market, according to a major new survey of senior auto execs released yesterday.

The Annual Global Automotive Survey from accountancy giant KPMG interviewed 113 senior executives at vehicle manufacturers and suppliers worldwide and found a significant increase in support for greener cars.

When asked to assess consumer priorities, quality and fuel efficiency were identified as the two key factors impacting purchasing decisions over the next five years. Meanwhile, two thirds of respondents said that alternative fuel sources would be important or extremely important to customers – a significant increase on last year's responses when just 53 per cent identified alternative fuels as an issue.

Execs expect this interest in greener vehicles to impact sales over the next five years, with more than 80 per cent predicting major increases in sales of hybrids and almost half projecting a decrease in sales of SUVs and large pickups.

However, opinions were divided on how rapidly demand for hybrid vehicles will grow with a third of respondents predicting sales will remain flat in 2008, a quarter expecting sales to climb from up to between 500,000 and 600,000 units in 2007 to between 600,000 and 700,000 units this year, and 27 per cent expecting sales to top 800,000 units worldwide.

"The industry knows where it is and knows where it needs to be," said Mike Steventon, head of automotive at KPMG in the UK. "It needs to produce quality vehicles that are fuel efficient, especially in this economic cycle, and it needs to invest heavily in developing alternative fuels."