U.S. EIA sees only 1.5% Hybrid sales growth to 2040

The U.S. Energy Information Agency seems to have totally sold out to the oil lobby.

The agency predicts, in a report released Tuesday 17th December, that 78 percent of all cars and trucks will still run on gasoline in 2040, down from 82 percent last year. It predicts a big upswing in micro-hybrids and other advanced fuel technologies to 42 percent of all vehicles by 2040.

EIA predicts full hybrids will account for only 5 percent of vehicles in 2040 — up from 3.32 percent today. That's an increase of just 1.7% in hybrid sales over the next 26 years?

It predicts just 1 percent of total sales will be plug-in hybrids and 1 percent full electric vehicles in 2040.

The agency also predicts that when adjusted for inflation, the price of gasoline will rise to $3.90 by 2040, compared to a prior forecast of $4.40.

Even using figures from 2011, at a local level, hybrid sales already far surpass this decades out prediction. In the San Francisco Bay Area 8.4% of all new cars sold were hybrid, Seattle and L.A. 5.7%, San Diego 5.6% and Portland 5.4%.

Lets not even mention Norway where full electric vehicles account for 12% market share amongst passenger car sales or The Netherlands where a plug-in hybrid was the top selling car last month, selling almost twice as many as the best selling petrol car.

Source: Detroit News