If they are able to lower the costs and successfully pass it on to the consumer (heh...) it may have some impact. The total cost of the car may actually lead to savings for the consumer. Right now it doesn't and even worse, the environmental impact of the hybrid throughout it's life is allegedly far worse than the standard vehicle. The damage to the environment from the production of the battery alone is traumatic.
Thankfully, that’s not actually the case.
NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) is a benign substance. It can be recycled too. In fact, the guarantee for recycling is rather high, since nickel is a valuable metal. Misconceptions about rechargeable batteries stem from the obsolete NiCd (Nickel Cadmium) technology, which really was harmful.
Life-Expectancy is 10-12 years (roughly 150,000 to 200,000 miles), which is long enough to fulfill the needs of most owners.
Warranty is 8 years / 100,000 miles. So if replacement really is necessary beyond that time, production increases & competition should help to reduce the cost. Continued technology improvements in energy density could too. Additionally, the salvage market has already begun to emerge, allowing you to purchase a used battery-pack (or just some modules) recovered from a vehicle destroyed by an accident. The cost of replacement batteries is just under $4000.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I’ve also heard that a VCR costs well over $1000.
Times change, and the batteries are nowhere near that expensive. They’re given 8 year warranties, Honda is the only manufacturer to have had to replace ANY (all under warranty), and the prices are dropping rapidly, just like your DVD player dropped in cost dramatically from 1998 to today.