A method for future cost estimation of hybrid electric vehicle

There is a growing interest in hybrid electric vehicles due to environmental concerns. Recent efforts are directed toward developing an improved main component systems for the hybrid electric vehicle applications. Soon after the introduction of electric starter for the internal combustion engine early this century, despite being energy efficient and nonpolluting, the electric vehicle lost the battle completely to the internal combustion engine due to its limited range and inferior performance. Hybrid electric vehicles offer the most promising solutions to reduce the emission of vehicles. This paper describes a method for cost reduction estimation of hybrid electric vehicle. The authors used a cost reduction structure that consisted five major subsystems (three-type battery and two-type motor) for hybrid electric vehicles. Especially, they estimated the potential for cost reductions in hybrid electric vehicle as a function of time using the learning curve