OPINION - Where Do Plug-In Hybrids Fit In?

You can expect to see the internal combustion engine, in mainstream usage anyways, to go the way of the dodo and the dinosaurs. Whether you like it or not, the future is electric, ideally derived from a renewable source for guilt-free motoring.

Unfortunately the future isn’t right here just yet. Global charging infrastructure, though ever improving, is still comparatively speaking, in its infancy. Charging standards are evolving too. However, at present, said infrastructure isn’t mature enough to support a fully EV fleet, especially in a Singapore context. So if you’re after a car with some electrification built into it, a hybrid may possibly be your best bet for the time being.

The Battery-Electric Hybrid Vehicle is not a new concept. The idea first came about in the 1890s, but low fuel prices did not incentivise any further developments on that front. Evolution was slow but steady, and around a century after the idea first came about, the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle was manufactured in the 1990s.

When you think of a hybrid, you think of the Prius.

The hybrids you see on our roads today have more than shaken off their reputation as finicky vehicles that are less reliable than their fully fossil fueled counterparts. Partially, this is down to the advancements in motor and battery technology, but we suspect their reputation has been helped by consumers just being more aware about what a hybrid vehicle actually is and how it functions; people are generally frightened of owning something that they don’t fundamentally understand.

Toyota's latest hybrid!

EVs and Hybrids have also gotten a lot of media coverage in recent years, and that sense of familiarity, as well as the fuel savings promised, must have played a part in persuading those on the fence to pull the trigger and actually buy one. The sudden growth of EV and Hybrid-Specialist shops certainly does help too.

Pre-Tesla, no one had a good impression of an electric vehicle. Frankly, you really can’t blame anyone but the manufacturers, as they’ve sacrificed everything in the pursuit of maximum range, and even then that figure has been fairly lacklustre. Charging through the wall sockets is just impossible in a country like ours, where the bulk of the population lives in an apartment complex of sorts. Even if you had reliable access to a 240V outlet, full charges can take up to 8 hours, which means you realistically can’t go anywhere on whim, and that negates the purposes of owning a car.

Another really solid EV option!

Tesla moved the goalposts significantly. They showed the world that EVs can have electrifying (get it?) performance, with outstanding range. Their supercharger network granted their cars the ability to rapidly charge, achieving upwards of 600 kilometres worth of range in just one hour.

Other automakers have since caught up. Many now utilise a universal charging standard, with significant range increases in just an hour. Pricing has fallen slightly, and will continue to do so as more players enter the market.

Probably the most common privately owned EV on our roads today?

Also, with the maturing of the charging infrastructure locally, and as costs then come down through lower pricing and increased subsidies, expect wider spread adoption. Our relatively small size should translate into shorter distances, and thus also mean that range anxiety shouldn’t be a huge problem for most.

A plug-in hybrid is by far the most complicated of the lot. You have your traditional ICE drivetrain, usually driving the front wheels in most mainstream applications, and you have an under-floor battery pack and rear electric motors that you’ll find on some electric cars. This added complexity can mean these vehicles are harder to maintain; expect higher labour charges, as more parts are crammed into a similarly-sized space than either its hybrid, EV, or ICE counterparts.

BMW's X3 xDrive30e is really rather good!

Complex it may be, but there most certainly is a place for PHEVs. Usually, with the gradual phasing out of one popular piece of technology for the next big thing (in this case the ICE with the electric motor), manufacturers will come up with stop-gap products created to help consumers gradually ease into the transition. Unfortunately, outside of the world of cars, a lot of these products fail to perform the functions of either its predecessor or its successor very well.

Electrification makes an SUV like this XC60 much more efficient!

Thankfully that isn’t the case with PHEVs. They offer their owners a flexibility that no other type of vehicle can. They have enough electric range for your daily commutes, which means that as long as you plug the car in, you do not use a single drop of fuel. When you decide to head up north, you do not have to worry about finding a charging station, as you can still fill the car up with petrol and keep chugging along. If you use it as a regular hybrid, the larger pack means more energy can be recovered under braking, and that translates into greater fuel savings compared to a traditional hybrid too.

Battery-Electric Hybrids are something we’ve grown accustomed to seeing on our roads. PHEVs are more expensive as compared to their traditional hybrid counterparts, but have certain key benefits over your typical hybrid.

PHEVs therefore, should be a way to help change the public’s perspective of the Fully Electric vehicle. For those with the pockets to afford one, it can be a gradual way to ease said owners into full EV ownership, proving to them that dailying a Fully-Electric vehicle can be a realistic proposition. A direct switch to propulsion without fossil fuels may come as a huge culture shock to the most die-hard of petrol heads, and may require many to alter their daily driving habits/styles for more efficiency.

PHEVs can in theory, be viewed as almost a training platform, allowing their users to familiarise themselves with all-electric driving, with a fairly reliable fail-safe in the form of a petrol engine. Either that, or it can be viewed as a valiant but fruitless attempt by petrol heads to stem the tide of the EV, and cling on to that sweet dinosaur juice for that little bit longer.

Thinking of going a little greener? Or planning to reduce your fuel cost? Browse through Carousell's listings now to find a Hybird car that suits you!

#Hybrid #Cars #PHEV #Autos #Singapore #Motoring #SG #Future #EV #Electric #MidTerm #Automobile

Credits: Jek Ray Low