Study Shows UK Buyers Bought PHEVs For Discounts Not To Plugin And Save The Environment

In theory, plug-in hybrid cars are the perfect stepping stone to shifting from internal combustion engines to fully electric cars, getting us all used to the idea of plugging in our rides instead of filling them up. But a recent report from the BBC suggests that a lot of hybrid sales in the UK came from large tax incentives, and then people just never bothered charging them.

Back in 2011, the UK passed a grant meant to incentivize people to buy plug-in hybrid vehicles by knocking £4,500, or roughly $5,740, off the sticker price and steeply undercutting the cost of most comparable diesel cars.

skytop - 11/16/2018 10:46:30 AM

-2 Boost

The English cannot comprehend doing two things at once.

PUGPROUD - 11/16/2018 10:59:41 AM

+2 Boost

Who would have thunk? Saving money tops saving the environment...who knew?

mpls - 11/16/2018 5:07:13 PM

+3 Boost

iF you've read the article properly, it mentions that it's more the fleet buyers and users of that that aren't really plugging in. The vehicle tax system is based on CO2 output. Private buyers are proabbly plugging in as it;s their own money

TheSteve - 11/17/2018 5:26:18 PM

+1 Boost

Another way of saying this: Without big discounts as a purchase incentive, EVs are too expensive to be competitive at full price.