Hybrid vehicles may hold most of the headlines right now, but both analysts and industry insiders agree that oil burners will comprise a far greater slice of the automotive propulsion market by 2020. BorgWarner CEO Tim Manganello told the SAE Automotive World Congress in Detroit that diesels would account for 20% of vehicles by 2020, and both Ford product chief Derrick Kuzak and Toyota engineering vice president Ed Mantey agreed with the assessment. Manganello based his prediction on powertrain trends in Europe, which already feature diesel engines in about half of its vehicles.
Hybrids were predicted to account for about 10% of the market by that time, which doesn't quite match up with the technology's considerable hype. We're all for more diesel and hybrids on America's streets, and with new oil-burners from Ford, GM, Honda and more already on the way, 20% sounds like a very attainable goal for 2020.
[Source: AutoWeek]
