Hybrid vehicles have really galvanized its foothold and stance as the future of the thriving global car industry.

When the first hybrid vehicles were introduced by giant car makers, including Toyota, Honda and Ford, the market response was so overwhelming and promising that other car manufacturers abruptly followed suit to seize the opportunity to snatch up market leadership.

It is expected that in a few years time, the market for cars would be greatly overhauled in favor of the hybrid cars, which are rapidly gaining popularity as gasoline prices continue to soar and the impact of engine combustion to the environment is started to be felt.

Thus, after the launch of pioneering batches of hybrid cars, many other companies have sprouted and showed their guts to pit head on against the industry leaders.

There are more start up car manufacturing companies today that are aiming to get the strong market hold in the car industry amid fierce competition posed by the long-time veterans.

Thus, it would be important to not that these new or start ups would potentially be the next important companies of the future. They have been ramping up their research and development initiatives to come up with product offerings that are not only at par with the current hot cakes, but also are pitted to be much better.

Thus, most start ups in the car industry are focused on developing and eventually selling their own versions and modifications of hybrid vehicles.

Several of these new and merging firms more than deserve sheer and great appreciation for taking the nerve and the guts to against the strong current and potentially face the challenges and setbacks of competing with major and giant rivals.

Some start ups

Because there are numerous start ups that offer future hybrid vehicles, the message is further beamed clearer across the industry.

Hybrid cars, indeed, are the cars of the future, the hope of the start ups to penetrate the intense and demanding market.

Here are some of these new companies that are aiming and hoping to enter the important market for the futuristic hybrid cars.

Tesla Motors.

The company is based in Silicon Valley and is aggressively making waves to solicit orders for its future hybrid cars, high-performance sports and utility cars, to be delivered by spring of 2006.

The future hybrid car models of the company would be mainly manufactured in the United Kingdom but would be greatly and widely distributed in the United States.

Tesla said its future hybrid car model would use sophisticated lithium-ion batteries that would last until the car runs a mileage of about 250 miles at 130 miles per hour.

Wrightspeed.

Wrightspeed is another start car making company based in Sillicon Valley in California. The company used to make computer parts and also used to be an amateur racer car maker.

Now, Wrightspeed has decided to take full gears in manufacturing cars, not just average and traditional cars, but hybrid cars.

The company has its own list of flagship future hybrid cars, which it is selling on a pre-ordered basis. Those future cars are estimated to last 200 miles before the next recharging is required.

Zap.

Auto importer specialist Zap in June 2006 started selling three-wheeled hybrid cars, which are actually made and imported from China. The future cars of the company are said to be able to reach a speed limit of 40 miles per hour.

Zap said its future hybrid cars are not just functional and economical, but are also fun to ride at and very sophisticated and chic.

The company's future hybrid car is named Xebra, which is initially priced at $9,000 each. The car can seat four, with four doors and comes in striped colors, barely relative to its namesake.

Tomberlin Group.

The group is actually not that new in the industry, but has been failing for some time to gather pace to create a niche in the car making and selling market.

The company's future hybrid cars are also sold on a pre-order basis at about $5,000 to $8,000 each, depending on the model, color and design.