By 2020 all new vehicles will have some level of hybridization, according to the Automotive 2020 Study conducted by IBM (NYSE: IBM).
Based on the feedback of 125 automotive industry leaders, the study reveals an industry grappling with significant change driven by increasingly sophisticated consumers.
As these consumers seek out a comprehensive mobility experience, industry experts predict that flexible transportation services will replace the purchase of personal vehicles for multiple uses.
The study concludes that consumers will expect to purchase or lease a vehicle that comes with flexible access to a diverse "garage" of vehicles. In the current model, consumers are often restricted by finances and buy a compromise vehicle, or they buy a car with features that don’t get used.
In the new model, consumers will drive a primary vehicle that best meets their daily needs, and have the option to change to a different model, as needed. For example, someone may drive a small, fuel-efficient vehicle during the week, but have access to a sport utility vehicle for a weekend ski trip or a luxury sedan to attend a wedding.
"Basic transportation will no longer be enough for increasingly empowered consumers. They want an automotive experience that matches their lifestyles and lets them move seamlessly from life inside the vehicle to their world outside," said Sanjay Rishi, Vice President and Global Automotive Industry Leader for IBM.
They study also highlights alternative power trends that will extend beyond 2020, with hybridization and battery technology leading the drive toward environmentally sustainable transportation.
The study concluded that Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will remain a viable alternative, but projections put only a small fraction of vehicle production migrating to this technology by 2020, due to cost-prohibitive processes and new infrastructures.
IBM said 85% of the top automotive companies worldwide–including all of the top 10–participated in the study, titled "Automotive 2020: Clarity Beyond the Chaos."
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