Diesel Emissions Scandal: Will it Boost Hybrid Vehicle Sales?
Automotive business headlines are still very much dominated by the Volkswagen Group’s diesel emissions scandal. It has left many motorists left feeling a little dazed and confused about all previous messages hailing diesel as the best conventional fuel.
Consumers will start to consider alternative vehicle fuels more and more, but totally electric cars typically remain relatively pricey. This could lead us to expect interest in hybrid cars to increase first.
Figures from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) tally with this theory. Its recent study found that over half of drivers considering purchasing or leasing a new car within the next couple of years will definitely be considering an electric or hybrid model.
About Hybrid Vehicles
Hybrid cars are powered by two sources which work in tandem; a conventional engine and an electric motor, mated to a large battery. The engine part of the equation can either by;
- petrol, as was the case with Toyota’s Prius, which is often considered one of the forerunners in the field, or
- a diesel engine, as seen in the likes of the Citroen DS5 hybrid
Braking and coasting typically feed power back into the battery. Many hybrid vehicles can run in pure electric mode over a certain distance, depending on the range.
A car like the Volvo V60 PHEV can cover 20 miles on electricity before the diesel engine kicks in. That means a person could drive to work and back in ‘zero emissions’ mode, providing their work is ten miles away at best. If they’re lucky and their employer lets them charge their hybrid at work, they could travel double the distance, solely, on electricity.
These days, hybrid cars come in all shapes and sizes, from an affordable, practical car for urban life such as the Honda Jazz hybrid, and the Mercedes C300 hybrid, right up to hybrid versions of SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne and Range Rover.
Hybrids certainly are not just for image-conscious celebrities and scientific types any longer; they are now firmly mainstream. It will be interesting to see how the diesel emissions scandal will impact on the vehicle purchasing/leasing decision-making process in the coming years.