Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are seen by many as a useful stepping stone between petrol and diesel models and fully electric cars. Photograph: Shutterstock
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and their cousins, range-extender electric vehicles, are seen by many – not least the world’s big car makers – as being a useful stepping stone between petrol and diesel models and fully electric cars.
The theory goes that a PHEV gets drivers who are unsure about making the electric leap used to the idea of plugging in and driving around on electric power, while still having a petrol (occasionally a rarer diesel) engine and fuel tank for reassurance on longer journeys.
As electric sales stalled, car makers scrambled to bring forward a line-up of improved PHEVs with longer ranges on electric power (many can now manage more than 120km on one charge, officially speaking). Chinese car makers, meanwhile, are pivoting hard towards PHEVs and REEVs (whereby a car is always driven by its electric motor but has a petrol engine on board as a generator for longer ranges) as these don’t attract the same hefty EU tariffs as fully electric models.
There’s a problem, though.
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