Trade-off between Fuel Economy and Cost for Advanced Vehicle Configurations

Internal combustion engine (ICE) hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have been recently introduced in the market place, offering higher fuel economy than current conventional vehicles. Concurrently, because of their high efficiency and low emission potential, fuel cell vehicles are undergoing extensive research and development. This paper compares conventional, ICE HEVs and fuel cell powertrain configurations from the fuel economy and cost points of view for the European, U.S., and Japanese markets. Several powertrain configurations, with different hybridization degrees, have been simulated using PSAT (Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit), and vehicle life cycle costs have been evaluated using the Automotive System Cost Model (ASCM) based on the average fuel price of each country.