Why aren’t there more hybrid vehicles before we go to all electric cars & trucks?
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There are actually tons of hybrid electric options available. Most of the most popular gas engine vehicles are available in hybrid models. In 2013 they were about 3.2% of the total market and in 2019, about 5.1%. They just aren’t being adopted very quickly. The main problem with hybrid vehicles is that you are adding significant weight by having both a battery system, with a separate motor and related components, with a gas engine, with all of its moving parts and need for gasoline. You also get added maintenance costs/issues, difficulty with service, and more moving parts that can fail. The added weight means the benefit is reduced, since the hybrid nature only increases fuel economy by a relatively small amount. For example, the Honda CRV hybrid gets 40 mpg in the city and 34 on highways, whereas a non-hybrid gets 34 on highways (i.e., the same as a hybrid) and 28 in the city. Plus, they required fuel, so you aren’t shifting the primary power of the vehicle, just increasing efficiency by a bit. Hybrids just aren’t really revolutionary enough to draw enough market interest. Plus, electric vehicles are already being used in large scale with success. The main criticism of range and charging time has very much been overcome with the more recent vehicles being released now, with ranges of up to 500 miles and charging times of up to 20 miles a minute (10 minutes for 200 miles). It just isn’t a necessary stepping stone to get to all electric.
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