Hybrid cars are gaining popularity, electric cars are stagnating

This article was last updated on September 30, 2024

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Hybrid cars are gaining popularity, electric cars are stagnating

Not the electric, but the hybrid car is gaining market share. This is evident from figures that the NOS requested from the Bovag. The car industry organization sees a trend that more car brands are developing hybrid cars or selling existing models as hybrids. Hybrid cars are partly electric, but also have a fossil fuel engine.

De Bovag calls it the last evolution of the petrol engine, before it is completely phased out. A spokesperson: “It is a transitional technology between fossil and electric. If a car brand cannot or does not want to put all its efforts on electric, they need hybrids to achieve their CO2 targets.”

Hybrid cars are currently seeing the greatest growth. The graph does not distinguish between plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid (more about that later):

Car brands must meet European CO2 targets: the total emissions of the number of cars per brand must be below a certain CO2 limit. That limit will be lowered until 2035. Then it will be 0 and all newly sold cars in the EU must be zero-emission.

Some brands wanted to be even more ambitious than the European Union. Like Volvo. The Swedish company said it would voluntarily move that deadline forward by five years and sell only electrically from 2030. A few weeks ago, the car manufacturer changed its mind: Volvo will continue to sell hybrid cars even after 2030.

“Ford, Renault, Mercedes-Benz: all brands that are backing away from their own sustainable promises,” says Leonie van den Beuken, chairman of the Electric Drivers Association (VER). “It’s a shame, because when car brands push themselves and set their own goals, you also see that products come onto the market that convince people. At the same time, these brands produce for the whole world.”

What is a hybrid car?

There are two types of hybrids. In addition to a fossil fuel engine, the ‘plug-in hybrid’ also has an electric motor plus a battery that is charged with a plug. You have different variants. Some drive the low speeds electrically, others drive the first few kilometers electrically.

A non-plug-in hybrid, also called ‘mild hybrid’, does not have a plug. The car does have an extra battery that is charged by the energy released when the car brakes. This stored energy is not enough to fully drive a car, but it is used when a car accelerates. According to Bovag, the growth lies in this last variant.

Van den Beuken does not think the popularity of hybrids is a good development. “A plug-in hybrid can be a stepping stone for people who want to get used to it. But if you look at environmental impact and ease of use, a hybrid is actually the worst of both worlds. All tests show that in practice they often emit more than regular fuel cars. Those who do not charge the battery only use the fuel engine, which is often very inefficient. And they are dependent on fossil fuels.”

CE Delft, a consultancy in the field of energy, transport and raw materials, also sees that the environmental benefit from hybrids is limited. To determine the environmental impact, you have to look at the complete chain, from generating energy to the actual fuel consumption of the cars. Because hybrids have both an electric or fossil engine and the associated infrastructure, the environmental impact is often somewhat higher than with a petrol car.

In addition, it also depends greatly on how you use the car. If people buy a hybrid car, but then hardly drive it electrically, there is little environmental benefit. The range of small hybrids is also still limited. As a result, consumers looking for a hybrid car may end up with a larger, heavier car than they intended to buy.

Short-term thinking

According to the VER, many people do not take the long term into account when purchasing. “Electric is now often even more expensive to purchase, but much cheaper to use and maintain. The fact that the government is constantly making different decisions regarding financial support for electric drivers does of course not help.”

It is expected that, due to better technologies and economies of scale, more small, cheaper electric models will come onto the market from next year and the price difference with petrol will become smaller. Manufacturers first focused on large luxury models because the margins are higher there.

And there is more going on in the car world. Such as in Germany, where Volkswagen and Mercedes asked the Minister of Economic Affairs for financial support last week. For the time being, it appears from that consultation: no concrete agreements to have come.

Volkswagen has been in the news for some time because the company suffers from high costs, low productivity and tough competition. Critics also say that the European car industry has been ‘sleeping’ while China has been fully committed to electric cars and gaining market share for years (with a lot of state support). Europe is now threatening with import duties.