Hybrid car finance
Hybrid cars offer environmentally conscious drivers a way to reduce their carbon footprint without sacrificing performance. With the cost of hybrid cars coming down and their popularity on the up, we take a closer look.
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What is a hybrid car?
In simple terms, a hybrid electric vehicle is a cross between a traditional (usually) petrol car and an electric car. Hybrid cars combine an electric motor, an internal combustion engine (ICE) and a battery to power the vehicle.
With their many benefits, it’s no wonder that hybrid cars are becoming increasingly popular. Some of the benefits include:
Many hybrid cars can even run on electricity alone for short distances, making them even more efficient.
Reduction in emissions
Better gas mileage than traditional gas-powered cars
Lower levels of pollution
How do hybrid cars work?
Broadly there are three kinds of hybrids: full hybrid (HEVs), plug-in hybrid (PHEVs) and mild hybrids. While they are all types of hybrid cars, they all work slightly differently – and they also offer slightly different benefits to the driver.
An alternative to hybrid cars are fully electric cars – also known as EVs. Electric cars are growing in popularity every year and will eventually replace petrol and diesel cars entirely. There are a few different types of fully electric vehicles on the market at present, including:
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs)
Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)
Extended range electric vehicles (E-REV)
These are powered by electric batteries only; unsurprisingly they have a far bigger range than the battery capacity of hybrid vehicles and they must be plugged into an electric charging point to recharge. The difference between a fully electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid is that electric cars don’t have a combustion engine at all.
The combination of a battery and an engine results in greater fuel economy and fewer CO2 emissions when compared with a conventional car, without compromising on overall performance. This is the great appeal of the modern hybrid. What might draw you to one over the other boils down to what’s important to you, your driving habits and where you live. For example:
If you live near charging stations or somewhere where you can install a charger, then a PHEV could be a good choice.
If you live in central London where fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids are exempt from the congestion charge this could sway you towards a plug-in.
If you don’t have easy access to electric vehicle charging points, then a full hybrid might suit you better as you won’t have to worry about charging it at all.
To buy outright, yes hybrid cars are more expensive than regular cars with combustion engines – but there are plenty of financial incentives to encourage you to buy a hybrid, including:
Exemption from congestion charges (if you live in London)
Lower tax costs
Because of their better fuel economy and lower tailpipe CO2 emissions, most CO2 based car tax is lower for hybrids than for their traditional equivalents.
Hybrid cars are becoming more accessible all the time as manufacturing costs decrease; these cost reductions are quickly passed on to consumers, making them more affordable every year. They are typically less expensive to buy than fully electric cars, which makes them the more affordable, ‘greener’ option for many.
The additional power supplied by the electric motor also results in improved fuel efficiency: hybrids don’t rely on fossil fuels and therefore release fewer gas emissions, meaning they are more economical and less damaging to the environment than conventional cars.
