Hybrid Vehicles: Past, Present, and Future

The most recent figures from J.D. Power and Associates estimate that American consumers will buy a minimum of 350,000 hybrid vehicles beginning this year — and with good reason. A plethora of outside factors influencing the once-easy choices would-be car owners make have made the process more complicated — and in many ways more necessarily thoughtful — than ever before.

There are the usual worries about gas costs and mileage to consider: with oil prices at record levels, many consumers are being forced to consider smaller hybrids which they would otherwise ignore. Hybrid vehicles come with many more fuel and energy benefits which allow drivers to use significantly lower amounts of fuel.

Then there is the all-important environmental consideration. In the age of green awareness, manufacturers and consumers have had a rather rude and abrupt awakening to the fact that carbon emissions from standard vehicles pose one of the largest threats to the environment — threats which, when realized, come with severe and fatal consequences. Hence the recent move by the U.S. government to increase mileage standards on all vehicles produced in the future, a move which many have characterized as a step in the right direction but not enough to combat the collective detriment to the environment.

Thus, the recent affinity toward hybrid vehicles previously not displayed by consumers and transportation-dependent industries has created a new landscape for what can be expected in the future of the automobile. For one, “hybrid” will no longer connote only small or compact cars. J.D. estimates that more than one half of all hybrid vehicles sold this year will be trucks.

Strictly defined, a hybrid vehicle is one which uses two or more distinct power sources while in operation. These include the following:

electric power
bi-energy (air/internal combustion engine)
combination rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) and fueled power source

It may surprise the mainstream consumer to learn that hybrid vehicles have been in production for several decades now, with the world’s first hybrid car — known as the Lohner-Porsche petrol-electric “Mixte” — dating back more than a century to 1902. After a brief surge in production, popular demand for hybrid technology died out around 1920, leaving resurgence many years in the coming.

It would not be until 1997 with the introduction of the Toyota Prius in Japan that hybrids would reenter the mainstream market. The Prius made its way to American dealerships in 2000, quickly gaining popularity and selling at rates which far exceeded manufacturers’ ability to produce the in-demand model. For a while, there was even a waiting list for buyers eager to own these cutting-edge vehicles.

Hybrid vehicle sales more than doubled in 2005 from the previous year, though they still made up only a small fraction of total new car sales. Analysts have found that when gas prices rise, as many as 8% of buyers say they are seriously considering purchasing a hybrid vehicle, though many of them balk at the price tags, which can be several thousand dollars higher than those of non-hybrid counterparts. With the pressures currently mounting from all sides — financial, economic, and environmental — it’s safe to say that the hybrid car will one day become the standard for responsible car ownership.

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Hybrid Vehicles: Past, Present, and Future