"As the United States gears up for higher vehicle fuel efficiency standards, two new reports from investors and industry experts conclude that U.S. automakers will be more profitable than they are today at a fleetwide 42 mile per gallon average in 2020.

The same research group projects that by 2015, less than five years away, more than one in 20 cars sold in the United States will be hybrid, plug-in or full electric vehicles.

Released on Wednesday, the two reports were produced by Citigroup Global Markets and Ceres' Investor Network on Climate Risk with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Baum and Associates and Meszler Engineering Services. "

Environment News Service had the story March 31, 2011. [2]