The PHEV Debate Lives On

As long as I’ve been covering electric vehicles, there’s been a debate about how useful (or not) plugin hybrid electric vehicles are. This week, two reader comments show that the debate rages on.

First of all, we received the following comment from Tom Dillon via our contact form: “A few days ago you had an article about how plug-in hybrids are not getting anywhere close to the EPA ratings. I wish in all your reporting you would just stop talking about plug-in hybrids because in my mind, they are no better than most gas cars. My sister-in-law has a plug-in hybrid and she’s never plugged it in. so it’s essentially an ICE car. When I read headlines like today that talks about EV sales in various countries I’m always wondering if it’s pure BEV’s or it’s hybrid mixed in so try and clarify that as much as possible. Thanks otherwise I love getting your daily report.”

Tom was referring to this research highlighting that plugin hybrids are emitting 5 times more CO2 than official test estimates in the EU, which I also just wrote about here.

However, that doesn’t mean plugin hybrids emit as much CO2 as non-plugin vehicles, and it doesn’t mean that there aren’t many PHEV owners who drive on electricity the vast majority of the time.

In a separate comment today, “Peace Man” wrote the following:

“As a PHEV owner I must disagree, especially if we have more EREV in the interim.

“The infrastructure for charging is still not ready for most of the world, and that is where the future sales will be made, especially for 3 wheel and 2 wheel EVs, but also for automobile EVs.

“My Volt is around 90% EV in usage. For myself it is 100%.

“I lend it to family for longer trips because it is difficult to explain the charging process and locations for charging (too many apps, no signage, need special map apps) for my Bolt.

“This gives them a chance to note how quiet and powerful the EV function is. I explain to them that efficient use of the Volt is: highways use gas (around 42mpg), cities use electric…. and I don’t worry that they will run out of electricity midway on their trip.

“The shift from full EV to gas mode is so seemless that sometimes in the past I did not even notice it. Now I would recognize it by the very slight vibration of the ICE motor.

“It is so sad that GM did not transfer the Voltec technology to a small pickup and small trades van. It would have been perfect for most tradesmen.”

That’s the issue, right? Used appropriately, plugin hybrids drive on electricity 80% or 90% of the time. They do effectively replace a gas car with an electric car. Used inappropriately, the owner never plugs the car in (but why would you get one then?) and they actually spend more money on fuel since they’re also lugging around heavy batteries.

I think policies that too heavily incentivize plugin hybrids (especially more so than full battery electrics) without trying to make sure those PHEVs are plugged in are definitely a problem. However, for certain people, PHEVs are the perfect solution that 1) allow them to drive on electricity 80% or 90% of the time while filling in the gaps with gasoline the other 10–20% of the time, or 2) allow them to get used to the idea of driving an electric car before taking the leap and going fully electric.

Now, there’s the question of whether we should report on plugin hybrid sales along with fully electric vehicle sales. In the US market, I just report on full electrics. However, in other markets, José Pontes and Max Holland cover sales of both powertrains, indicating their results separately of course. I think that’s useful since PHEVs are still in that “stepping stone” category and because tracking the progress helps us to see how the market is changing overall. Many of those reports also indicate the number of conventional hybrid and traditional gas/diesel-powered cars. It’s more about tracking all of the types of vehicles. So, I still support José and Max tracking PHEV sales as well as BEV sales, but I’m curious to hear more people’s opinions on whether they should remain in the discussion or not.