It might not be in 5 years, 10 years, or even 20 years, but within the next several decades plug-in electric vehicles look poised to seize a major chunk of automotive market share.  In the meantime, hybrids are climbing the sales charts and look to sustain their financial success.

The commonality is batteries -- both hybrids and plug-ins need faster releasing, higher capacity, and more mass-producible batteries.  What was once the horsepower war between automakers is now becoming the battery war, and the industry's key players are jockeying for position.

Some battery makers have the gusto to directly challenge the industry giants, making their own vehicles.  China's BYD Co, a battery maker-turned-plug-in manufacturer is among them.

Others are signing lucrative deals to jointly develop batteries with industry giants.  Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor ,nd Mitsubishi Motors Corp have set up joint ventures to produce batteries with Panasonic, NEC and GS Yuasa Corp, respectively.  The pairings make for strange bedfellows -- Germany's Volkswagen AG has paired with Japan's Sanyo Electric Co and Toshiba Corp.  Germany's Daimler AG has paired with America's Tesla Motors.

Andy Palmer, senior vice president and head of product planning at Nissan, states, "When we were doing the research for electric vehicles (EVs), we believed we needed to have the core battery technology in-house.  That was a strategic decision we chose to make. If Nissan is right ... and zero-emissions is the future, then we've ensured that future by having that technology."

Nissan looks to launch its plug-in vehicles in 2012, and mass-produce them on a broader scale than competitors that will have entered the market by then, like GM, Ford, and Chrysler.  Nissan also is looking to launch its EVs at lower price points.

Pair ups aren't the only big deals in store, though -- Toyota is developing its own secret battery technology that it believes with make lithium-ion cells a thing of the past.  Honda meanwhile believes that fuel cells are the future and is, for now, ignoring plug-ins.  It has already started trial deployments of its FCX Clarity production fuel cell vehicle.

As for the domestic automakers -- Ford, GM, and Chrysler -- financial problems have held them back from major battery investment.  However, companies like A123 and LG Chem are looking to fuel the domestics' new EVs such as the Chrysler Electric Roadster and the 2011 Chevy Volt.  With hot models like these, the domestics are likely to move more deeply into the electric sector.  And this means increased ties with battery manufacturers and battery research expenditures.

In 20 or 30 years, battery companies that have played their hands right are poised to become the Microsofts and Intels of the auto industry.  It's a golden opportunity, and the battery makers are doing their best to seize it.