America’s automakers have staked their futures on the notion that electric vehicles will dominate sales in the coming years, spurred by buyers determined to reduce carbon emissions and save on fuel.
But so far, while EV sales are growing, their pace is falling well short of the industry’s ambitious timetable for transitioning away from combustion engines. Instead, buyers are increasingly embracing a quarter-century-old technology whose popularity has been surging: The gas-electric hybrid, which alternates from gas to battery power to maximize efficiency.
So far in 2023, Americans have bought a record 1 million-plus hybrids — up 76% from the same period last year, according to Edmunds.com. As recently as last year, purchases had fallen below 2021’s total. This year’s figures don’t even include sales of 148,000 plug-in hybrids, which drive a short distance on battery power before a gas-electric system kicks in.
Well yeah, hybrid technology works well on most models. Better mileage and sometimes better power with few downsides.
The downside is complexity. EV’s are simple with a lot less parts. Hybrids have the parts of a gas car plus the parts of an EV.
Yeah I’ve alwayd been told buy an all electric or all gas car and stay away from hybrids but a buddy of mine had a used hybrid and loved it until he gave it to his mom when she needed a car
Do you mean better range? You cant get better mileage than 0 gallons to the mile.
I meant better mileage than internal combustion, yeah sometimes as low as zero if the hybrid allows electric-only.
I was looking at used Leafs and they might have been able to get me to work if it wasn’t too cold.