Hybrid Cars: The Future Of Motoring?

Motoring Channel Staff - 17/July/2007

Melbourne, Australia — While Australian drivers are increasingly looking towards hybrid cars to lower their carbon footprint, American drivers are shying away from petrol-electric hybrid cars.

Some 30,000 people Australia-wide were interviewed by Roy Morgan Research recently, and the results suggest that more and more people have hybrids on their shopping list. 

The Roy Morgan Single Source survey showed that more than half of Australian new car buyers are seriously considering purchasing a petrol-electric hybrid vehicle within four years. Interestingly, there will be a far higher number of hybrid models on sale by the turn of the decade as more and more car makers adopt the hybrid technology, particularly as the technology advances and production is less costly.

Norman Woodcock, who is Roy Morgan Research's director of business development, explained that a number of factors may have contributed to Australia's growing interest with hybrid vehicles. "As petrol prices continue to increase, global warming awareness rises and alternatively powered vehicles become more versatile and affordable we will continue to see a dramatic rise in hybrid consideration and market share."

"Consideration" won't automatically result in sales, but it does give a good indication of overall purchasing trends.

Furthermore, the Australian survey found that 74% of all new car buyers regard fuel efficiency as more important than high performance. HSV's recent record sales would suggest otherwise, but that could be pinned on the all-new VE platform and the 'honeymoon' levels of public interest. 

The survey revealed that women are a key driver for hybrid purchases in higher income households, and in total hybrid car consideration levels have increased at around 8 per cent each year following the introduction of Hybrids into the market by Honda and Toyota in 2001. If this trend continues, well, hybrids will be incredibly popular indeed.

In America meanwhile, consumer interest in hybrids has dropped by 7% according to a recent study undertaken by J.D. Power. Between May and June of 2006 some 57% of people surveyed confirmed they were considering buying a hybrid vehicle. 

Yet for the same period in 2007 only 50% of people were interested in purchasing a hybrid. It should also be noted that American consumers trends suggest a surge in interest for diesel vehicles, which could explain the hybrid car drop.

In 2006 some 12% of new car buyers in the States were interested in diesel-powered passenger vehicles, but in 2007 that figure has spiked to 23% as more and more marques begin to offer diesel models in America - mirroring a similar situation here in Australia.

At the time of writing there are more hybrid models on sale in America than there are in Australia.

The trend towards hybrid cars - which are only petrol-electric at the moment - is strong in both America and Australia, and the US market also appears to be accepting the benefits of diesel power, which has been the case in Australia for the past handful of years. Does this spell the death of the petrol-powered car? 

Not by a long shot, particularly as car makers like Volkswagen begin to roll out their new TSI technology (see the first TSI road test here), making use of small petrol engines boosted by turbo and supercharger technology. This allows for good performance and low emissions. Car makers such as Peugeot and BMW also offer small 1.6-litre petrol engines that are boosted by turbo chargers and we expect even smaller engines - possibly below 1.0-litre - to benefit from high-pressure turbo and supercharger technology to provide drivers with the power they want, while reducing emissions.

Of course, diesel engines already offer this positive performance/emissions combo, and more and more drivers are recognising this. As the two surveys in Australia and America suggest, hybrid cars feature strongly for at least half of all buyers, and with diesel-electric hybrid technology set to emerge in around 2010, there will be another even more eco-friendly way to travel.

Recent studies (and sales figures) conducted in America also showed that the Toyota Prius was a more popular hybrid petrol-electric car than the Honda Civic Hybrid, because of the image it portrayed. The Civic Hybrid looks like a Civic, but the Toyota Prius is instantly recognisable as a hybrid, suggesting people may want to be 'seen' as going green, as much as wanting to help the environment.

In another 10 years time, it is predicted that all genres of car - from sports cars, to SUVs, medium, and large cars, micro cars, and even motorcycles - will be available in hybrid form. The world's No. 1 car maker, Toyota, recently claimed that it will offer all of its current vehicles with hybrid propulsion systems in the near future. Energy storage systems and battery technology is constantly improving and these advancement will allow the combustion (petrol/diesel) aspect of hybrid engines to shrink to far smaller levels in future.

Hydrogen fuel is another zero carbon emission alternative that some car makers are dabbling with such as BMW, but will take much longer to get off the ground due to infrastructure issues, such as fuelling station investment and construction.

The rising cost of petrol isn't expected to abate, and if you subscribe to the peak oil theory then the price of petrol and diesel will skyrocket in the next decade. The move towards hybrid and diesel powered transport isn't only driven by monetary factors either. More and more buyers want to go green and do their bit to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and as the only viable alternative for those travelling lost distances, hybrids are destined to become major players in future new car markets.

Related articles:
- Honda Civic Hybrid (Road Test)
- Lexus GS450h (Road Test)
- smart fortwo hybrid electric (2008)
- Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept (2007)
- Mercedes-Benz Bluetec Hybrid S-Class (concept)
- Audi Q7 Hybrid (concept)
- Zap X Electric Car (2007)
- Daihatsu HVS (hybrid concept)