The study predicts that all-electric, plug-in vehicles will be a reality by 2020, and that the battery technology for electric cars could also change the way vehicles are financed. Executives anticipated that batteries will cost up to 15 percent of the total cost of vehicles in some segments, making those vehicles significantly more expensive than those with traditional engines. 

The life of an automotive battery is estimated at 10 years, but those batteries can be used beyond that in nonautomotive applications, such as in power grids. That leads some executives to suggest that consumers should be able to separate payments on the vehicle and the battery, drawing out the battery payments over a longer period so they would be more affordable.

The study wasn't optimistic about hydrogen fuel-cell technology, saying only a tiny fraction of vehicles might be using that technology by 2020.

Making liquefied hydrogen remains an expensive process, and it will also be difficult to build a new infrastructure to distribute it.

IBM Automotive, a branch of IBM Corp., provides consulting and information technology services to auto-related companies.