Started with difficulty, is it already gone? Originally, hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology was intended to bridge the gap until purely electric-driven vehicles were available to the masses. With two very different engine concepts, high weight and high costs, hybrid technology cannot be the last word in mind for the vehicle of the future.
Interest in the old hybrid bestseller Toyota Prius is dwindling significantly as the wave of pure electric cars picks up speed faster than expected. Toyota has managed to sell 17 million vehicles with hybrid technology to date. But now the Japanese are slowly getting a taste for pure electric vehicles, albeit mainly in connection with the fuel cell. “Until the barriers to fuel cell vehicles are overcome, we make a significant contribution with our work on hybrid models,” Toyota CEO Shigeki Terashi justifies the Japanese strategy.
Subsidies as sales boosters
Hybrid versions have already played mostly only a minor role at European manufacturers for years. In Europe, add-ons are only found in the model range as they are heavily subsidized by governments in most countries and promise cheap consumption on paper. The question of whether the driver really regularly plugs into a charging station or leaves the charging cable unused in the trunk has been completely ignored. But from 2023, purchase premiums for hybrid vehicles will be canceled almost everywhere, meaning that such cars will continue to lose their appeal for manufacturers.
Even new hybrids like the Opel Astra GSe, Renault Austral Hybrid or Range Rover P510e will likely only have a manageable life in the respective manufacturers’ product portfolio. All that remains to be seen is how luxury manufacturers will continue with hybrid technology. BMW has not only recently introduced its new luxury SUV XM as a hybrid model with up to 750 hp, but also offers the new 7 Series in addition to the plug-in and unplugged all-electric i7 hybrid variant. Competitor Mercedes will continue to offer the new E-Class in a plug-in hybrid variant next spring.
Chance to survive in the luxury segment
So in the luxury segment, where every gram and every franc doesn’t matter, it’s possible for hybrid technology to survive a little longer. But in the medium to long term, the combination of combustion engine and electric motor will become obsolete in Europe. And plug-in and plug-less hybrids don’t seem to have much of a future in North America either.