Hybrid vs. Electric: Why the Push to Leap Past Hybrids Straight to EVs?
The debate in the automotive world is all about the merits of hybrid vs. electric vehicles. Why are we being pushed so hard toward electric vehicles (EVs) instead of the more viable and practical hybrid vehicles? In the last 2-3 years the automotive market has changed course dramatically, dropping the idea of creating new hybrid vehicles (cars and trucks that use an internal combustion engine and batteries for propulsion). Multiple car companies have announced they’ll only offer new EV cars by the mid-2030s, and California is moving towards banning the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by the mid-2030s also.
These are major moves despite major and legitimate questions regarding the capability of local and national power grids to handle the increased load from more electrical demand. Just a few days after announcing the ICE-equipped vehicle ban, California had to ask EV car owners not to charge their cars because the grid was overloaded and created an extreme fire risk in a state that is a tinderbox for wildfires.
ABOVE: Recently several automakers have started making big pushes to all electric vehicle (EVs) production and eliminating all their internal combustion engine-equipped products. In this big leap, it seems like the realistic and proven option of hybrids is being left behind without further development, despite the massive hurdles facing a mass adoption of EVs by vehicle owners.
Why Are We Even Debating Hybrid vs. EV?
One obvious answer why is political. Between the Federal Government enacting stifling CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) increases on automakers and state governments starting to ban the sale of new ICE-powered vehicles, laws and regulations are making an EV car the only option. Governments are justifying these drastic moves as part of the fight against climate change, but the legitimacy of climate change is a heavily debated subject that has created its own political and social quagmire.
Besides debating whether climate change (and really manmade climate change) are legit, there also seem to be other political reasons for the government pushing restrictions to force the automotive market towards EVs. Those reasons are still hidden in the fog of politics, and they elicit reasonable hypotheses as well as extreme tin-foil hat theories.
Are Electric Cars More Expensive?
The second reason why EVs seem to be winning the hybrid vs. electric debate goes into the volatile oil market and related costs of fuel. The country has seen drastic price increases over the last year and a half when it comes to gasoline and diesel, which lead to higher costs of anything transported by ICE-powered freight vehicles—basically, almost everything we buy.
EVs are being touted as an alternative because theoretically, they don’t require oil-based fuels for propulsion. But while that bullhorn is blasted at everyone, it distracts from EV cars and trucks being more expensive than their ICE counterparts, the limited availability of precious metals needed for the construction of EV batteries, and the fact that the energy needed to recharge EVs mostly comes from fossil-fueled power plants.
ABOVE: The one thing hybrids and EVs have in common is a battery pack that requires rare-earth metals for their construction that is a limited resource requiring costly and environmentally damaging mining. But a hybrid wouldn’t require the amount of batteries a pure EV does, reducing that negative aspect somewhat. It also helps to reduce the cost of replacing said battery pack when it reaches end-of-life and requires a new battery be installed.
The third reason an EV car seems to be pushed on the market is the massive virtue-signaling being done relating to the climate change aspect. Talking heads, celebrities, and other people crow about how it’s the responsible thing to do and getting an EV helps save the planet. The problem there is that the same people/entities smothering us with this virtue-signaling are existing off fossil fuel-related luxuries, demonstrating a huge hypocrisy.
The old saying “good enough for thee but not for me” is the best fit for describing this hypocrisy. It’s clearly on display any time someone virtue-signals about climate change but then hops on a private jet to circle the globe, lives in a gigantic house (or more than one house) with a huge carbon footprint, and even lives in an oceanfront residence despite supporting a theory that sea levels will rise and put these areas underwater in a short amount of time.
ABOVE: Some automakers haven’t given up on hybrids and are continuing development of current hybrids and new model offerings with hybrid capability. Hybrids have a major advantage over EVs in not being limited as much on range, and also by any charging limitations such as lack of charging station, slow charging, or government mandated Do Not Charge orders because of power grid limitations and dangers. Also hybrids tend to cost much less than EVs, making them more realistic alternatives for buyers.
Which Is Better, Hybrid or Electric?
Meanwhile, we’re not hearing much on the hybrid car front except from a few automakers who aren’t going all in on the EV hysteria. While hybrids do have a large carbon footprint because of their batteries, the fact that they also have an ICE means that you don’t need to charge them off the power grid (though plug-in hybrids are available), so there are no limitations if a state does issue a no-charge order to EV owners. Also, hybrids aren’t range-limited like most EVs that require trip planning that coincides with charging stations. Improving battery technology has increased battery life while also improving battery range.
And when it comes to purchasing costs, hybrids are typically less than the cost of a pure EV. Overall, a hybrid car has no power grid limitations. They are more economical, more flexible, and could easily be adapted to use more environmentally friendly hydrogen instead of diesel or gasoline. It’s a real puzzler why so many automakers have announced the abandonment of hybrids in favor of EV-only model lineups in the near future.
It seems sure to create a booming market for used ICE vehicles (at least until someone gets the bright idea to ban the sale of those!), and either way will cost consumers more no matter which type of vehicle they choose to buy. Another certain thing is the hybrid vs. electric situation seems doomed to become even more politicized.
