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And yet the best selling car last year, world-wide, was Tesla Model Y - a fully electric car, not a hybrid. Hybrids are the worst of both worlds: you need a ga

by kjksf 2y ago

And yet the best selling car last year, world-wide, was Tesla Model Y - a fully electric car, not a hybrid. Hybrids are the worst of both worlds: you need a gas engine AND a battery. It doesn't make sense economically. Things cost money and putting both engine and battery costs more that putting just one of those. People care about the price so in practice you end up with a car that has both gimped (cheaper) gas engine and gimped (cheaper) battery and a government subsidy to make it sense financially (for buyer). Not to mention that study after study found that environment benefits of plug-in hybrids have been greatly exaggerated i.e. in real life charging happens 2-3x less than the initial predictions. People buy them mostly because governments offer subsidies making them more attractive than similar gas cars and then don't charge them at all. Which also means that the battery in them is completely useless and it would be better if it wasn't there in the first place.

foobarian 2y ago
> People care about the price so in practice you end up with a car that has both gimped (cheaper) gas engine and gimped (cheaper) battery and a government subsidy to make it sense financially (for buyer). On the other hand this makes sense, because the vast majority of trips are short, so the gimped battery works just fine. But for the long trips the gas engine can fill in. It means one can own one car instead of two.
enragedcacti 2y ago
> And yet the best selling car last year, world-wide, was Tesla Model Y - a fully electric car, not a hybrid. Toyota sold almost twice as many hybrids as Tesla sold cars in 2023. Comparing a single model's sales is pointless, especially when Tesla carries so few models compared to most manufacturers. > Hybrids are the worst of both worlds: you need a gas engine AND a battery. Most hybrids use a dead simple power split transmission that replaces a complex automatic transmission as well as the alternator and starter. Most of the accessories move off of belts and get replaced with high-voltage electric components similar to an EV. Priuses are the most common taxi and Uber vehicle for a reason. They are extremely reliable and cost effective relative to ICE and even EVs depending on the relative cost of fuel. > It doesn't make sense economically. Things cost money and putting both engine and battery costs more that putting just one of those. The costs are fairly marginal, switching to the Hybrid model of the 2024 Corolla (no subsidy) costs $1450 and nets +15 combined MPG and 0-60 times within 0.2 seconds of one another. At +15 mpg and $3.50/gallon it pays itself off in 50k miles > Not to mention that study after study found that environment benefits of plug-in hybrids have been greatly exaggerated i.e. in real life charging happens 2-3x less than the initial predictions. IIRC this study was from corporate fleets which isn't representative of a consumer who seeks out a PHEV.

by kjksf 2y ago

foobarian 2y ago

> People care about the price so in practice you end up with a car that has both gimped (cheaper) gas engine and gimped (cheaper) battery and a government subsidy to make it sense financially (for buyer). On the other hand this makes sense, because the vast majority of trips are short, so the gimped battery works just fine. But for the long trips the gas engine can fill in. It means one can own one car instead of two.

enragedcacti 2y ago

> And yet the best selling car last year, world-wide, was Tesla Model Y - a fully electric car, not a hybrid. Toyota sold almost twice as many hybrids as Tesla sold cars in 2023. Comparing a single model's sales is pointless, especially when Tesla carries so few models compared to most manufacturers. > Hybrids are the worst of both worlds: you need a gas engine AND a battery. Most hybrids use a dead simple power split transmission that replaces a complex automatic transmission as well as the alternator and starter. Most of the accessories move off of belts and get replaced with high-voltage electric components similar to an EV. Priuses are the most common taxi and Uber vehicle for a reason. They are extremely reliable and cost effective relative to ICE and even EVs depending on the relative cost of fuel. > It doesn't make sense economically. Things cost money and putting both engine and battery costs more that putting just one of those. The costs are fairly marginal, switching to the Hybrid model of the 2024 Corolla (no subsidy) costs $1450 and nets +15 combined MPG and 0-60 times within 0.2 seconds of one another. At +15 mpg and $3.50/gallon it pays itself off in 50k miles > Not to mention that study after study found that environment benefits of plug-in hybrids have been greatly exaggerated i.e. in real life charging happens 2-3x less than the initial predictions. IIRC this study was from corporate fleets which isn't representative of a consumer who seeks out a PHEV.