EV Sales Closing In On Hybrids In Europe - How Long Until The Hybrid Is A Dodo?

My next car will have a plug. I don't know yet if it will be a BEV or PHEV. My daughter has gone 800 miles and still has a half tank of gas in her Pacifica, and has used about $30 in electricity. Hard to argue with numbers like that in something that can still carry their family of 5 and all the misc stuff they bring along. Plus, they can head out cross-country without worrying about how far they can drive. And the Pacifica still gets fantastic MPG even after the battery is used up, as in about 30 MPG.

Then we wonder why GM killed the Voltec drivetrain. There you have it though, people transition to electric at various paces so there is a market for various transitional vehicles such as PHEVs and the younger generation that has more at stake and is less risk-averse will take the charge (pun intended).

Another INSIDEEVS.com article.

Hybridization is wasted on small and medium cars. Why bigger vehicles like X5/6/7, GLE/S, Q7/8 aren't automatically hybrids across the board is the question. They and minivans, pickups, and large SUVs--here--should be hybridized for MPG already. An F150 Energi is arguably more useful to the market than an F150E.

@MD You are in the biz, why is this still the case? Especially for use in full size SUV's and Pickups. It is a no-brainer to make space for an electric motor and a batter stack when a refreshed model comes around. Fuel savings, reduced C02 and no range anxiety either. And yet.....

Basic reason is that gas is cheap. You can put a lot of gas in the tank of an F150 for the added cost of the hybridization. While you may be "saving instantly" with a hybrid, the break-even point several years of average driving. EVs are typically DOUBLE the price of an equivalent car. The Model 3 is a Fusion-class vehicle for twice the price.

BUT, you would think that the incremental improvement in MPG caused by hybridization of large SUVs and pickups would be a significant improvement to CAFE given the volume of these vehicles.

We love our Escalade that get an average of 13mpg the way we use it and I am not bitching about that number because we bought it knowing fully well that it would be thirsty.

Hybridization is proven technology so I find it curious that it is not deployed.

God knows the Ecoboost route is not the answer as Ecoboosts get equal or worse MPG to their non-boosted counterparts.

@MD That is another myth busted. So odd to see increasingly smaller engines put into vehicles where they are boosted to within an inch of their lives. Noisy and providing only poor fuel economy as you pointed out.

AS I recall- GM had a Hybrid Truck system - that was also used on a Dodge Truck - but - it did not provide for a major increase in Fuel Economy compared to the smaller cars - offering only about a 10% saving which did not pay for the extra cost of the Hybrid Package - and it reduced the Hauling capacity of the trucks as well.

Virtually all of the company cars of my company are Hybrids. Originally (When we switched) they were Ford Fusions, and they are now Chevy Malibus - and while they did improve fuel economy - they were really terrible to drive vehicles - I really really really hate the CVTs. But people forget that at least some of the improvement that the Prius got was due to things other than the Hybrid system - lower weight and aerodynamics - although the Prius was too small. The Malibu is so much better than the Fusion - clearly a second generation better. But it is still NOT a real replacement for an straight ICE system when it comes to driving the cars.

Hybrids are the worst of both worlds, you have two powertrains to maintain, extra weight, extra cost, and still have to go to gas stations. They were always a stopgap to full EVs which should hit cost parity with ICE cars soon even before looking at the gas and maintenance costs. I'd argue the Model 3 is already there for some of the versions.