When the global auto industry looks inclined towards electric technology while trying to push hybrid machines into a secondary position, lets accept the emerging reality that ‘hybrid is growing’. Surprising enough, some of the credible international newspapers and journals have asserted that “the e-car won’t be the vehicle of the future”.
Toyota’s hybrid beauty ‘Prius’ has outshined its electric rivals – supports the argument that electrification of the cars is still lags behind hybrid technology. The reasons behind this assertion are discussed later in our discussion.
Coming back to the news, Toyota’s sales report has revealed that Prius’ year on year (YoY) sale is jacked up by staggering 138.6% in the first quarter of 2024. The company sold 13,327 units in Q1 of FY24 compared to 5,586 vehicles in corresponding period last year – signaling the growing love for hybrids.
Comparing Prius sales with it electric rivals, Toyota bZ4X (fully-electric SUV) and Lexus RZ’s sales clocked at 1,897 and 1,603 units, respectively, falls far behind the
EVs Are Not the Future – The Verdict
Electric cars have a big problem: they cost a lot more than cars with combustion engines. They’re like 30 or 40 percent more expensive. That means not everyone can afford them. Another issue is that electric cars actually produce more carbon surpassing even petrol cars in some cases. So, they’re not as green as we might think.
Furthermore, the production of EVs necessitates resources, including lithium for batteries, exacerbating concerns about sustainability and resource scarcity.
Charging infrastructure also poses a considerable challenge. While suburbanites with home garages can install chargers, urban areas lack sufficient public charging stations. And even if you find one, it takes ages to charge your car.
These problems are just the start. Making electric cars still releases greenhouse gases into the air. And it costs a ton of money to build a good system for electric cars, especially for small or new countries. We don’t really have a good plan for how to pay for it all.
Last but not the least, while electric cars are cool, they’re super expensive, also not as green as we thought, we’ve got a long way to go before electric cars are just as good as regular cars.
The total sales for the Prius stood at just over 13K units for the WHOLE Q1 of 2024. That is sales for Jan, Feb and March combined.
The monthly sales for the Tesla Model Y have been over 20K per MONTH for 2023 AND Q1 of 2024. The sales of their Model 3 have been over 16K per month for the same period.
*https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/tesla-model-y-sales-figures/
*https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/tesla-us-sales-figures/
Last year, the model Y was the one to dethrone the RAV 4 and Corolla and become the best-selling car in Europe, China and the US.
*https://www.pm-review.com/tesla-model-y-to-be-best-selling-vehicle-of-2023-jato-data-shows/
*https://www.jato.com/tesla-model-y-to-be-crowned-worlds-best-selling-vehicle-of-2023/
So, Toyota is making a big deal of 13K sales IN 3 MONTHS. Riiight…
The “EV Counterparts” of the Prius, the BZ4X, the Lexus RZ and the Subaru Solterra, all three EVs made on the BZ4X platform have been sales disasters, with even Toyota die-hard fanboys saying “Best if avoided”! They have spent most of their time in recall limbo because of serious built quality issue. Even their tech is outdated by EV standards even today after their so called “refresh”.
BYD has its new EV the Dolphin costs 10,000 USD! Even if it sells for DOUBLE that in other markets, it is still only 20K USD. No hybrid even comes close. The MG5 EV that is now even available here, all-be-it very expensive due to margins and Taxes, is around 25K Pounds in the UK. On par or cheaper than most Hybrids. There are so many EVs by GWM, Changan BYD which are less than 20K USD in China. Granted they will cost more in other markets, but still they are cheap even compared to Hybrids.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wPhEghweD8
The other thing is, hybrids are not exactly cheap here. We are getting a close to 2 caror average price for a used Prius. And carors more for things like Toyota Crown Hybrid etc. The cheapest Hybrids or the most value for money are the Chinese brand hybrids like the Haval Jolion Hybrid or the H6 Hybrid.
And the EVs which “adorn” our roads in Pakistan are imported by people with money to burn and brands to show off. So, buying 5 caror to 30 caror Porsche, or Merc. or Audi or Bentley or Rolls does not give the actual data. Isn’t it like buying the wrong product and getting the wrong impression about price from that purchase and coming to the wrong conclusions?
*https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-18/chinese-ev-affordability-frightens-ford-gm-us-automakers
PW must delve deeper into its claim of EVs “produce more carbon surpassing even petrol cars in some cases”.
Are we considering life-time emissions? EV battery manufacturing produces a lot of emissions, yet over the lifetime of the EV, the emissions start to drastically drop when the EV comes on the road. ICE vehicles continually burn fossil fuels through out their life. Not only that, ICE cars regularly require maintenance and oil changes. For a country like Pakistan, it is not a problem. It either goes into the “nala” or goes on the bottoms of old cars when they are washed at the service stations. Which is again wrong. However, in developed nations. Such used oils are disposed off in proper areas and require them to be transported or other methods which also have quite a significant carbon footprint.
In countries where electricity is produced like in Pakistan i.e. through unclean sources such as fossil fuels or coal, EVs DO get a higher carbon footprint; but over-all it is still better than ICE or Hybrid. But what about places such as Germany or the Netherlands/Norway where they have now shifted to almost all renewable energy and public charging at many times during the day is almost free. In such places the carbon impact of EVs is drastically less.
*https://www.visualcapitalist.com/life-cycle-emissions-evs-vs-combustion-engine-vehicles/
*https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/23/do-electric-cars-really-produce-fewer-carbon-emissions-than-petrol-or-diesel-vehicles
I agree that for countries like Pakistan where charging will most defiantly be a problem, mostly due to bad leadership more than anything else. Hybrids are a good solution. Any affordable Hybrids in the market?
BYD is coming to Pakistan, I hope they also bring their lineup of plugin hybrids as well. Other than that, I also wish that companies like GWM and Changan and even BYD also bring in their line of EREVs here as well. Due to lack of charging here, EV range IS an issue. EREVs solve this problem easily. They have an ICE engine acting like a power generator. EREVs are the next evolutionary step after Plugin Hybrids. The only real question is. WHY ARE THE JAPANESE IGNORING THEM? They are heavily advocating for ICE still being part of the equation. And they have massive expertise in Hybrids. So why ignore EREVs which are the next step?
Lastly America is in trouble. Biden did try to get battery production localized in the US but due to legal issues and cost problems, they will not get their production numbers or costs down to Chinese levels. And they are afraid of this because they cannot indigenize this technology easily. That is why they are fighting tooth and nail, especially with fluff data like this to discredit and delay EVs as much as possible. And if Hybrids are becoming more popular it is because most brands now have mostly hybrids in their lineups in the US and EU because of regulations. So, claiming that Hybrids are “winning” is dubious at best. They are mostly the only options so what else would the average joe buy?
@Ali Khan
The links that you shared state that China and Europe remain the only markets with a higher adoption rate for the Tesla Model Y than any other car. Why then did you spice it up and add the U.S. to the equation?
Another thing is, are you being paid to market Chinese cars? Because last time I checked, I learned that Tesla is an American brand, and even if some of its cars are built in China, that does not make it a Chinese EV brand.
Finally, do some research about the EV market. Most people buy reliable cars, not some cheap Chinese box on wheels. That is why, other than Tesla, not a single brand has a significant brand following. Perhaps that is why your favourite Chinese brands are not listed anywhere in consumer reports or business-related magazines.
https://www.businessinsider.com/best-car-brands-2023-consumer-reports-bmw-subaru-mini-lexus-2023-2
PS: Also, use that thick head of yours; end of life means the time when the car has been disposed of. Now, how many EVs have been discarded? The technology is still in its infancy, is it not? Then I guess that other than a few hundred, most of the cars have not even achieved the 100,000-mile milestone. So, this cost at the moment is not calculable and therefore comparable with ICE’s cost.
PPS: The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid is almost similarly priced and falls in the same price bracket as the Jolion, so that is another lie under your belt.
@Khurram
Buddy! Always a pleasure to see how your mind works. Excellent effort to muddy the waters and go off on a completely different tangent from what is being discussed. As always, your utter disdain and hatred for the Chinese Brands is exemplary! 👍🤦♂️
Buddy the Tesla sales figures that I gave ARE from the US. Just as the data shared in this article is FROM the US. So that makes them both relevant right?! 🤔🤷♂️
What are you on about “end of life”?! 🤯🤦♂️ So EVs and cars in general have a distinct end of life date?! Damn! so in the case of most of the decades old, obsolete Japanese cars still operating here and sold as new; You just proved that we are bring taken advantage of! Thanks for that. 👍
And what’s your point with the link you gave? Yes, conventional brands and conventional cars are still the largest selling segment. So what?! Similarly. we can also sight that more horses were sold than ICE cars in the first couple of decades when ICE cars first came out over a 100 years ago. A 100 years!
However, coming back to the present, the EV segment is where sales are rising fast; even with the prediction of slowdown by the media to make the legacy auto makers feel at ease.
*https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-01-09/electric-vehicle-market-looks-headed-for-22-growth-this-year#:~:text=Electric%20Vehicle%20Sales%20Still%20Rising
from the link: “We expect global passenger EV sales — battery-electrics and plug-in hybrids — to increase 21% in 2024 to 16.7 million, with 70% of those being fully electric.”
70% of the 16.7 million sales of fully electric and Plugin hybrids are going to be fully electric alone! And it further mentions that China will be the biggest driver of sales, representing 6 out of every 10 EVs sold globally. Does all that compute for you?
Lastly, I can’t spell out everything for you but, yeah! there are EVs in the real world that have been discarded or replaced just like normal cars around the world get discarded or replaced for many reasons; and not just complete EVs, sometimes just the battery packs are replaced for many reasons. You can take the info and twist it anyway you want bro. You always cherry pick your snowflake, trolling arguments so what can I say. 🤷♂️
Keep ’em comin’ bro. 👍