Although some people believe that the slowdown in electric vehicle sales growth means that the popularity of electric vehicles has stagnated, and they should bet on plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV), a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that But in fact, it’s not.
“It’s true that plug-in hybrid sales are growing,” said Corey Cantor, an electric vehicle analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “These vehicles, which have both batteries and internal combustion engines, will see a staggering increase in sales from 2022 to 2023.” 48%. However, even such a fast growth rate cannot catch up with the 51% growth rate of pure electric vehicles. More importantly, the sales base of pure electric vehicles is even larger.”
It is noted that the report also showed that Stellantis Group’s products accounted for 46% of the total sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles in the U.S. market in 2023, of which models such as the Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Chrysler Pacifica hybrid contributed a lot. Plug-in hybrids from Toyota and Lexus came in second, accounting for 15% of total sales. Models from Hyundai, Kia and Volvo (Geely) also occupy part of the market, but these brands all sell more pure electric vehicles than plug-in hybrids.
So is there no future for plug-in hybrids? Reports suggest otherwise, but sales figures suggest the future of plug-in hybrids remains unclear. Plug-in hybrids are often considered a solution to ease the range anxiety of electric vehicles, but in actual use, whether PHEVs can truly solve the problem and whether they are economical is still open to question. For example, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s battery price survey shows that batteries for plug-in hybrids will cost nearly three times more than battery electric vehicles, at $343/kWh in 2023 compared with $128/kWh. While a $7,500 IRA tax credit can help offset some of the cost, models like the Toyota Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime, which are both made in Japan, are not eligible for the credit. In addition, considering that plug-in hybrid vehicles account for less than 2% of Toyota’s sales, it seems unrealistic to transform the production line into catering to this small part of the market.
Compared with pure electric vehicles and non-plug-in hybrid vehicles, the technology of plug-in hybrid vehicles also appears to be somewhat backward. For example, models such as the Jeep Wrangler 4xe have shorter range and poor fuel economy in non-electric mode. If more affordable plug-in hybrids with longer electric range could be introduced, they might be able to attract more buyers.
