The Early Feats and Promising Future of Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
Solutions in Action from the Climate 2030 Blueprint
Hybrid-electric vehicles, which pair an internal combustion engine with one or more electric motors under the hood, first arrived in the United States 10 years ago. Since then the technology—and its popularity—have grown immensely.
Hybrids combine the best elements of internal combustion engines and electric motors to reduce carbon emissions by 30–50 percent compared with conventional vehicles, even while maintaining performance, range, and other key features preferred by American drivers. While the hybrid concept is not new (patents were filed as far back as a century ago), it was only in the 1990s that batteries and onboard computers became advanced enough to permit successful hybrids.
The first modern, mass-produced hybrid was the Toyota Prius, a compact car brought to the Japanese market in 1997. Hybrids didn’t reach the United States until three years later, when Honda unveiled its super-efficient two-seater Insight, followed promptly by Toyota with the Prius (Hall 2009). Both, however, were niche vehicles, with combined sales totaling less than one-tenth of sales of the top-selling model.
In 2004 hybrid technology finally reached a broader, mainstream U.S. audience. Toyota substantially redesigned its Prius, increasing not only its size but its fuel economy as well—an engineering feat that caught the attention of environmentalists and auto enthusiasts alike. Not to be outdone, Honda pushed its hybrid technology into the company’s mainstream nameplates, releasing hybrid versions of the company’s popular Civic and Accord sedans.
Annual U.S. sales steadily climbed as new models came to market, reaching 120,000 vehicles in 2005 (Ward’s Auto Data n.d.). That same year Ford unveiled the Escape Hybrid as the first hybrid SUV. The range of consumer choices grew quickly: by 2006 the hybrid market consisted of 10 models representing five different vehicle classes. Today the U.S. hybrid market continues to expand. Sales climbed from roughly 20,000 in 2001 to more than 300,000 in 2008, with the Prius now ranked among the top-10 best-selling vehicles in the country (Ward’s Auto Data n.d.).
That said, not all hybrid models have been successful. Honda abandoned its Accord Hybrid in 2006 (AP 2007); sales for Toyota’s Lexus brand “performance hybrids” have flagged; and Chrysler discontinued its Durango and Aspen hybrids after their first year (Doggett and O’Dell 2008). The critical difference between the hybrid stand-outs and the hybrid also-rans is this: hybrid vehicles that use the technology to boost power rather than increase fuel economy have failed to capture significant market share.
Responding to consumer preference, automakers are now moving their hybrid vehicles toward efficiency. Honda’s 2009 Insight (a new, larger sedan bearing very little resemblance to its discontinued two-seater namesake), for example, will be a 40-plus-mpg vehicle selling for less than $20,000 (Honda 2009). Ford is entering the hybrid car market with a Fusion Hybrid in 2009 that offers better fuel economy than its midsize competitor, the Toyota Camry Hybrid. And Toyota is bringing out its third-generation Prius with an expected 50-mile-per-gallon fuel economy rating (Kiley 2008).
The next few years will likely see an even greater revolution in hybrid design, with major-manufacturer release of plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs). Plug-ins, as they’re commonly known, have battery packs large enough to enable drivers to travel significant distances on electric power alone, and to recharge the vehicles at home through conventional power outlets. Yet their use of gasoline engines also allows the vehicles to meet consumers’ requirements for range and refueling time.
In short, PHEV designs provide an overall improvement in fuel economy and the opportunity—with a clean-power grid—to dramatically reduce vehicles’ carbon emissions. General Motors, Toyota and Ford are slated to bring the first mass-produced plug-ins to market between 2010 and 2012. Although cost and battery-engineering challenges remain, a cleaner vehicle future looks promising.
References
Associated Press (AP). 2007. Honda to discontinue hybrid Accords. MSNBC Business, June 5. Accessed on February 4, 2009.
Doggett, S., and J. O’Dell. 2008. Chrysler to discontinue Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen hybrids, shutter plant: Move not seen as indicator of a hybrid collapse amid industry’s financial turmoil. Edmonds.com, October 23. Accessed on February 4, 2009.
Hall, L. 2009. Back to the past: The history of hybrids. MSN Autos. Accessed on February 4, 2009.
Honda. 2009. Insight: Specifications. Accessed on February 4, 2009.
Kiley, D. 2008. Ford fusion smokes Camry hybrid on fuel economy. BusinessWeek, December 29. Online at , accessed on February 4, 2009.
Ward’s Auto Data. No date. (by subscription only).
