Airbus Group NV for the first time is considering entering the crowded market for small jetliners and sees futuristic, electrically powered planes as its edge to sell 90-seat airliners.
Airbus is betting that emerging hybrid-electric propulsion technology will allow it to eventually prevail in a segment where market leaders Bombardier Inc. and Brazil's Embraer S.A. are already contesting with rivals from Russia, China and Japan. Airbus's hybrid regional airliner would aim to slash fuel consumption by around 75% from current technology in standard regional planes.
