In 1899, German engineer Ferdinand Porsche created the first hybrid car called System Lohner-Porsche Mixte. It worked on the principle of a gasoline generator feeding an electric motor, the latter driving the front axle.

In 1904, with the appearance of the first, much cheaper Ford cars with gasoline engines, the demand for hybrid cars fell sharply. In 1997, Toyota released the Prius hybrid model as an alternative to gasoline or diesel engines.

Two years after that, in 1999, Honda offered the Insight variant, which was considered the first hybrid model in the US. In fact, these two cars were the basis of the global hybrid market.

Currently, most experts believe that an electric car is best suited for an urban route. Despite the fact that the autonomy of many models of electric cars reaches up to 300 km, this figure can vary greatly in real traffic conditions.

Most often, the range is from 100 to 200 kilometers, depending on the model of the car and the capacity of the battery it is equipped with. The outside temperature, crowding, the type and slope of the road it drives on, as well as the degree of loading of the vehicle have a decisive effect on its performance.

In the conditions of long roads, in the absence of electricity supply infrastructure, a car with a mixed mode of operation is a good choice today.

Purchase. The purchase price is higher compared to the heat engine versions. The hybrid version of the model with an internal combustion engine costs an average of 25% more than the conventional one, so the depreciation of the car will be even greater than that of a conventional car.

Prices for electric cars start at approximately 22,000 euros for cars with a capacity of 80-150 hp. and a range of 150 km and 50,000 euros for 300 km. Prices for hybrid cars are 30-40% lower than electric cars.

Support schemes for the purchase of electric vehicles were in operation in Romania. The Rabla Plus program for electric vehicles provides a €10,000 voucher. For hybrid cars, there is the Rabla Classic program, which adds an eco-bonus of 1,700 lei in addition to the recycling bonus, which costs 6,500 lei.

An analysis of the costs of buying a classic, hybrid and electric Fiat 500 shows a big difference between them.

Fuel consumption. A hybrid car can reduce fuel consumption by 20-40%. In addition, depending on which type of hybrid we are talking about (classic, plug-in or soft), each of them has certain advantages:

A classic hybrid does not require charging at an outlet, so it has a low autonomy. When the battery is discharged, the car continues to run on the gasoline or diesel engine.

The mild hybrid electrical system offers additional assistance to the internal combustion engine by powering some auxiliary units such as the audio system or climate control.

The plug-in hybrid can be charged from an outlet and has more autonomy thanks to more powerful batteries, as well as a gasoline or diesel engine. However, it has a higher purchase cost than the other two and reliability is low due to the weight of the batteries.

To travel the same distance, an electric car requires half the energy of a hybrid car and three times less energy than a conventional combustion engine car.

Energy analysis “from the well to the wheel” of motor vehicles shows the following overall efficiency:

Gasoline car about 18 – 19%

Electric car approx. 52 – 59%

Car on water approx. 36 – 44%

Hybrid car 28 – 31%

Energy costs. Diesel fuel is the most expensive type of fuel to put in a car, due to high market demand, as well as higher taxes due to its perception of being “dirty”. Electric cars get a lot of praise for their low charging costs. This is largely due to the expansion of the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and the wide availability of electricity. In some cases, you will be able to use a free top-up, which can be found at work or in the supermarket.

If you want to charge your electric vehicle at home, you will need to consider the cost of purchasing and installing a home car charger. It costs around 400 euros.

The table below shows models from the same popular brands and shows the difference in running costs between diesel, petrol, hybrid and electric models.

For those who want to compare fuel costs between different cars using the Classic – Electric Comparison Calculator

Maintenance. Hybrid gasoline and diesel cars contain more than 100 moving parts. On the other hand, most electric cars have less than 5 moving parts in total, making them much easier and cheaper to maintain. Regenerative braking in electric vehicles also helps reduce wear and tear on tires and braking systems. Overall, this means that the lifetime maintenance costs of an electric vehicle are much lower than those of a hybrid vehicle. The real inconvenience at the moment is the services dedicated to electric cars, which are harder to find and require more searching.

Time of life. The service life of an electric car is determined by the service life of the battery. Batteries for electric cars are built-in. Replacing the battery does not make financial sense because the cost of the battery and the labor to install a new battery in many EVs is high.

One kWh for this car costs about 270 euros. Given that a €35,000 car has a 62kWh battery, the cost of the battery is €16,800.

The average value of autonomy indicated in the case of electric cars is about 300 kilometers. According to some studies, after six years of use, cars currently on the market have shown that they can still travel only 280 km on a full battery. However, many owners of these cars are concerned about battery life. A recent study showed that 46% of electric car owners claim that the battery of such a car will last for a maximum of 100,000 km.

Currently, electric car batteries sold in Europe have a warranty of 8 years or 150,000 km, some companies such as Kia or Hyundai give a longer battery warranty.

For example, Tesla says the Model S will lose only 5% of its original capacity in the first 50,000 miles, and Tesla owners back up those claims, saying they’ve only lost a few percent of their battery capacity after a few years of use. use.

Impact on the environment. According to an article published in the World Electric Vehicle Journal, the production of battery electric vehicles has a carbon footprint approximately 50-100% higher than that of conventionally powered vehicles. An electric powertrain, including the inverter, electric motor, and transmission, has a moderately lower carbon footprint than an internal combustion engine-based powertrain, including the cooling system and transmission.

Based on conventional cars with a 100% carbon footprint, it can be concluded that hybrid cars have 25% more CO2 emissions and electric cars 75% more CO2 emissions in production. The situation changes significantly during the lifetime of the vehicle, as CO2 emissions are significantly higher for conventionally fueled vehicles.

Loading Charging an electric car takes much longer than refueling at a gas station. Another important element is the availability of charging facilities in the shared driving area, the time required to charge an electric vehicle depends on the capacity of the charging station. This can take up to seven hours (charging at home overnight) or at best 30 minutes (quick charging at a public charging station).

Efficiency. Electric powertrains have proven to be much more efficient than diesel engines because: EVs don’t suffer from idling fuel losses like diesels, most EVs have what’s known as “regenerative braking” in which energy is collected by the electric motor as it slows down and then delivered as an additional battery charge and, unlike diesel cars, there is no risk of wasting energy due to inefficient gear shifting. These machines have one speed and provide instant torque when accelerating.

Driving style. The advantage of a hybrid car is that it allows you to combine two driving styles (electric car / classic car), between which the instantaneous torque developed by the electric motor when you press the gas pedal is important.

The car in cold weather. Romanian winters can affect the autonomy of an electric car, as below minus 5 degrees it starts to create certain problems. A hybrid car solves this problem.

Ed: Dumitru Chisalita is the president of the Intelligent Energy Association