Palace Group

There is still so much ignorance or you may even say, so much　indifference in as far as hybrid cars are　concerned.　Made so famous and desirable by a host of Hollywood stars, it continues to make its mark in the retail car market, if the retail growth figures are anything to go by. Certainly not as in your face as the fuel-powered car in terms of advertising but maybe we could blame that on the recession, or simple economics – the demand for these cars isn’t as high as it is for other cars. In fact, when you look at the capital cost of purchasing the hybrid, any brand, it is clear why many consumers are not rushing for the "clean" car. Buying a hybrid car is expensive and if you have a tight pocket, this will not be the best way to reduce your carbon footprint. For example, the cost of a hybrid would be at times,　sixty thousand dollars more than buying the fuel powered equivalent model. Of course you will be told by the manufacturers that you can recoup the costs　in three to five years. But this argument doesn’t　consider the repairs you may need on your car, nor the actual distances will you be traveling in and thus the optimisation of the fuel-saving features of a hybrid.

I find it not compelling an argument, that a hybrid is our future though. Despite all the hype and the good things said　about　hybrids, I believe strongly, that　there are cheaper ways for us to explore as consumers, in our quest to　reduce carbon emissions　than purchasing hybrid cars.

A hybrid is a combination of two motors, the gas and electric motor. These two motors work together with a number of other factors to greatly increase a vehicles fuel efficiency and lower its emissions, and overcome the shortcomings that each type of engine has on its own. In most big cities, cars are the largest overall polluter, spewing millions of pounds of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur oxide, into the atmosphere and into our lungs [source: EPA]. With over a billion cars on our planet, we surely need to look for solutions as an investment in the environment and in our collective future. With the advent of green living and more sustainable lifestyles, companies across the globe are promoting products that follow the green philosophy. The shift towards reducing, re-using and recycling, is thankfully gaining momentum. So why the apathy when it comes to greener cars? Are they simply perceived as part of our dinner-party green tokenism – or is it that we just don’t understand them? How much is marketing hype and how much is scientific fact? The general consensus is that hybrid cars do require more energy to produce than conventional cars, by emitting more greenhouse gases and burning more fossil fuels during the manufacturing process. But perhaps the question we should be asking is: ‘Does the environmental impacts of hybrid vehicle production outweigh the long-term benefits of driving a cleaner running automobile?’ According to intensive studies by the US Department of Energy, if both a conventional and hybrid car is driven for 257,495 kilometres, the conventional vehicle requires far more energy to operate and emits far more greenhouse gases, significantly cancelling out any imbalance during the production stage. And let’s face it, based on the South African average of 20 000 km’s per year, that’s only 12 years on the road.

Though we see few hybrids on South African roads, the market worldwide is growing. The most obvious reason for this is because the financial rebates and cash incentives of up to R 30 000, which are offered by all first-world countries, are not available in South Africa. In the absence of government subsidies, these vehicles remain prohibitively expensive for the majority of South Africans.
That said, Toyota has made a concerted effort to make hybrids more accessible and more mainstream by offering ‘bread and butter’ models with full hybrid technology. The new Yaris HSD for example is the most affordable hybrid on the market, retailing at R 230 600 compared to R181 000 for the petrol equivalent. Considering an average mileage of 12 000km’s per year, you can expect to see a return on your investment at the end of the first year. For cash-strapped South Africans it becomes an attractive proposition.

An interesting observation in the South African market is that it’s at the top end that you are seeing the most ‘hybrid’ activity and the two main advantages remain the same regardless of the size of the vehicle. Fuel consumption will be considerably less with a hybrid vehicle, as will emissions. With reference to the latter, it’s important to remember that it’s not just the total emissions that are a lot lower but it’s also the type of emissions that need to be taken into account. Hybrid/petrol vehicles will produce a lot less toxic particulate emissions and NOX or Nitrogen Oxide emissions than a diesel engine. In fact, if you are not factoring in the "green" environmental aspect, you are leaving out a lot of the "worth" of the car, which sways any results based purely on purchase price and fuel economy.

Different manufacturers use different combinations of internal combustion engines, batteries, and electric motors to build their hybrids. The one thing all hybrids have in common is that, as their name denotes, they combine two types of propulsion. In every production hybrid, that means an internal combustion engine like the ones found in the majority of cars, and one or more electric motors powered by on-board batteries.

Some manufacturers offer hybrids that cannot run exclusively on the electric motor, but a full hybrid offers real world economy in stop-start traffic, which is where most people who buy city cars spend their time. These hybrids will run mainly on electric power, offering far greater fuel savings than even the most frugal diesel engines.

HYBRID MYTHS

1. They lack power

As with most new technology that becomes available, hybrid cars have certainly created their fair share of misconceptions. A common argument against hybrids is that they aren’t as powerful as petrol-powered vehicles. Granted, some automotive engineers have focused on fuel economy at the expense of performance, but the more recent hybrids such as Lexus, BMW and Porsche, have achieved both. Hybrid technology is continuing to evolve, resulting in more powerful vehicles such as the new Ferrari hybrid supercar that uses a slightly less fuel, emits fewer grams of CO2 and, ‘Oh, by the way’, accelerates to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. The LaFerrari captures excess power generated under braking or when the engine produces a surplus of power to a battery pack and then diverts it to the two electric motors. One provides boost to the V12 petrol engine and the other drives accessories. It is worth mentioning that LaFerrari’s hybrid kinetic energy recovery system runs along with the engine, never on its own, so it is technically considered a mild hybrid. It does however come with a price tag estimated at well over R17 million.

2. You need to plug in

This myth stems from the confusion between hybrids and electric cars. But today’s hybrid cars don’t need to be plugged in. Auto engineers have developed an ingenious system known as regenerative braking. Energy usually lost when a vehicle is slowing down or stopping is reclaimed and routed to the hybrid’s rechargeable batteries. The process is automatic; so the driver is not required do drive any differently than they would a petrol or diesel car.

3. The hidden cost is in the batteries

Skeptics of hybrid technology point to several shortcomings associated with these car batteries. They claim hybrid cars are slow because the batteries are too heavy or the materials many batteries are made from, like lead, are harmful for the environment and go against the familiar "green" claim. But with the early quirks out of the way the hybrid battery pack has become one of the more reliable parts of a hybrid car. Most manufacturers offer an 8 – 10 year battery warranty on the battery, but that doesn’t mean that the battery will die out at 100 000 km’s. The battery in the 2013 greenest vehicle, the Toyota Prius C, for instance, has an 8-year, 300 000-kilometer warranty. As for cost, most experts agree a replacement hybrid car battery can range anywhere from R 10 000 to more than R60 000, depending on the year and model of car.

Although our rate of hybrid adoption is somewhat slower than the US and Europe, sales in South Africa are on the rise. Our entry-level hybrid customer, comprising mainly of the fairer sex, is buying into fuel economy and the feel-good factor associated with reducing carbon emissions. At the top-end it’s not about the money. The Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid retails at R1 000 005 as opposed to R 878 000 for the diesel equivalent. For this market it’s more about the fast, fun drive from a cutting edge piece of technology and of course the status that comes with being an ‘environmental innovator’.

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