Carmakers advocate plug-ins for being able to go longer lengths on electric power; some say as much as 100 miles per gallon of gas. We all know for sure that Toyota and GM are making big plans to launch plug-in hybrids. Great, the thought of having a more fuel-efficient car is thrilling. Nevertheless, are these carmakers and the current technology ready at hand enough to support such a ground breaking innovation? From what I see, I have to keep my fingers crossed!
CHALLENGES
Business 2.0 interviewed two companies that sell kits to convert Toyota Priuses and Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and they too, are apprehensive. The biggest challenge these companies have to cross is in developing a suitable battery. Plug-ins need a different kind of battery, which can store loads of electricity to reach maximum utility but the biggest hurdle here, is that such kind of battery has no longevity. No longevity– then some companies like Ford has refused flaty to sell plug-ins unless it could guarantee that the battery would last as long as current hybrid batteries do.
Unlike popular belief, plug-ins hybrid does not operate just like an all-electric vehicle i.e. gasoline engine does not start up only after battery power runs down, but when the speeds get higher. Mike Tamor, executive for hybrid and fuel cell research at Ford Motor Co. explains:
The way the hybrid systems are designed they really don’t have enough electric drive power to do that. Not by a long shot.
If such kind of plug-ins were to be developed, the costs would escalate and everybody knows it would become very unpopular if that happens.
If hybrids are accused of being expensive then plug-ins are guilty on the same charge on double counts. Currently, the cost difference between a hybrid vehicle and an identical non-hybrid version is about $3,000 to $5,000, and as for plug-ins, it is double of that.
As much as I would love to see plug-ins flooding our roads, yet I have to say that it would be a while till we can see a plug-in blooming.
Via: money.cnn.com
