While automakers search for the most cost-effective solutions to continue reducing fuel consumption and emissions, while also providing the electrical power needed for the ever-increasing feature sets of new vehicles, 48-volt electrical systems will play an important role.

A 48-volt mild hybrid is estimated to provide 70 percent of the benefit of a high-voltage hybrid at 30 percent of the cost while boosting electrical power available in the vehicle from 2.5 kilowatts (kW) to 10 kW.

—Sam Abuelsamid, senior research analyst with Navigant Research

Automatic engine stop-start systems based on 12-volt electrical systems are also anticipated to grow in popularity and are expected to reach near universal adoption in Europe and North America by the end of the decade, according to the report. On top of this, growth in Asia Pacific will bring sales of low-voltage stop-start systems to more than 60 million units annually by 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of 10.6%.