It is simply the case that hybrids were intended to fulfill transitionary roles, and that stage is coming to an end, gradually.
Add to all of this the rapidly increasing market for fully electric vehicles (EVs), and it is not hard to see why hybrid sales are in jeopardy, long term. Climate advocates and governing bodies are pushing the expansion of public transit and better walkability in our cities and towns, and electric bicycle manufacturers are churning out e-bikes in greater numbers than ever, even outselling all plug-in light duty passenger vehicles combined in some markets and on pace to outsell all motor vehicles sold combined, in others. What is it you ask? A combined and growing push from climate advocates, local, state and federal government and electric bike (e-bike) manufacturers. Some consumers may dread this, and complain loudly, but short of global catastrophe or drastic materials shortage, the market is going to move no matter what.īut there is another growing “threat” to hybrid car sales (maybe competitor is a better way to say it). They will have to only sell cars with plugs or possibly with hydrogen fuel cells, but that’s even more of a niche at this point and likely will remain so. But that will only hold true for another decade or so, and then individual markets will start closing down to these options and automakers will have no choice if they want to do business in these states and countries. Automakers, it seems, are racing to produce more models and versions of each, as well as a smaller assortment of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) as they must achieve increasingly strict emissions targets and unless they are already 100% electric brands, hybrids of one flavor or another are an easier path to meeting their reduction targets. And once that begins to happen, hybrid vehicles will rapidly disappear from manufacturers' product lines.Īs NPR points out, hybrids are almost twice as popular with US car shoppers as EVs (with about 20% vs.
Without the largest markets being wide open for hybrid sales, car makers would struggle to keep or attain economies of scale necessary to produce enough hybrids for smaller markets.
But, those markets would not be very large, compared to China, the US and Europe. Obviously, car manufacturers could still find markets for standard hybrids in countries that haven’t abandoned fully gas powered light duty vehicles. Countries in Europe and elsewhere are planning to ban them too. The problem, for the manufacturers, is actually much bigger than the US states that plan to ban standard hybrids along with non-hybrid light passenger vehicles.
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