Attacking hybrid cost

Hybrid-electric vehicle costs must be slashed significantly for the technology to become mainstream. HEV developers reveal many routes in the cost-reduction crusade.

Mention the word “hybrid” in a room full of automotive engineers and you will likely spark a high-voltage debate on the merits of hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) technologies.

But there is one topic on which engineers and product planners agree: Cost is a significant penalty for hybrids due to the pairing of two separate power units-an internal-combustion (IC) engine and a battery module-within a single vehicle.