The state has pumped millions of dollars into today’s public charging system, with billions more on the way. Buyer enthusiasm is hardly the only risk. Plenty of challenges lie ahead as California mandates zero-emission cars, including cost and access to charging.Įlectric cars are selling well now, but no one knows if the trend will continue. A new Toyota Prius Prime, with a 44-mile battery range, carries a $32,350 base price, almost $5,000 more than the regular Prius hybrid.īusiness California bans sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Some of the cost can be offset through tax breaks, government rebates and other incentives that are income based. The cars are several thousand dollars more expensive than regular hybrids because of the larger battery and the parts and engineering required for recharging. “They have to have them in the fleet to continue to advance up the curve.” “Right now they’re CAFE in the near term until electric vehicles have critical demand,” said Dan Hearsch, an auto industry consultant at AlixPartners, an international consulting company. One reason car companies continue to offer them even though their market share is small: Each sale helps achieve federal fuel economy standards, known as CAFE, and meet state zero-emission vehicle rules. Plug-in hybrids “may work better for some drivers who don’t have access to fast charging, for example.” Why does California carve out an exception? Though plug-in hybrids “don’t provide the same level of emission reductions, we do still encourage sales as one of several consumer options,” said Dave Clegern, public information officer at the California Air Resources Board. Here’s his guide to choosing the right EV for you. Times, Russ Mitchell gets a lot of questions about electric car buying. Times guide to buying an electric car nowĪs autos writer for the L.A. (That doesn’t count two Ferrari supercar plug-in hybrids, whose 9- and 10-mile batteries are there to boost power, not to cut pollution.) Americans drive cars an average of 37 miles a day, according to Kelley Blue Book.īusiness The L.A. Customers have wide choice: At least 32 plug-in hybrid models are available for lease or purchase in the United States, with EV-only ranges between 17 and 44 miles. Plug-in hybrids made up only about 3% of automobile sales in California for the first half of 2023, compared with about 21% for pure electric cars and trucks. Foes, including Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, say plug-in hybrids depend too much on fossil fuels and don’t make sense for anybody. They consider them a more flexible alternative to all-electric vehicles, in particular for those who rely on a single car. That’s enough for fans, who see plug-in hybrids as a way to drive on mostly pure electric power and not have to worry about iffy public chargers on longer routes. The plug-in hybrid can be attached to a wall socket or an EV charger for a battery refill, at home or at work, and the gas tank can be refilled at a service station. A regular hybrid has no plug to recharge a battery: The gasoline engine takes care of that. Where a regular hybrid car runs on gasoline, using battery power to improve gas mileage, a plug-in hybrid can go a few dozen miles on battery power alone. To many consumers, plug-in hybrids fall on the gas-battery spectrum somewhere between hybrids and all-electric vehicles.
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