More US auto buyers are turning to hybrids as sales of electric vehicles slow - eviltoast
While EV sales are growing, their pace is falling well short of the industry’s ambitious timetable for transitioning away from combustion engines.

America’s automakers have staked their futures on the notion that electric vehicles will dominate sales in the coming years, spurred by buyers determined to reduce carbon emissions and save on fuel.

But so far, while EV sales are growing, their pace is falling well short of the industry’s ambitious timetable for transitioning away from combustion engines. Instead, buyers are increasingly embracing a quarter-century-old technology whose popularity has been surging: The gas-electric hybrid, which alternates from gas to battery power to maximize efficiency.

So far in 2023, Americans have bought a record 1 million-plus hybrids — up 76% from the same period last year, according to Edmunds.com. As recently as last year, purchases had fallen below 2021’s total. This year’s figures don’t even include sales of 148,000 plug-in hybrids, which drive a short distance on battery power before a gas-electric system kicks in.

  • themelm@sh.itjust.works
    2·
    11 months ago

    Running a plug to an apartment building parking lot properly would not neccesarily be cheap. I doubt a renter would be better off paying for that vs just running an efficient gas car. It only makes sense if you do it for the whole building at once at least then you get some economies of scale with bringing an electrician out and running wire through a parking lot.

    • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
      1·
      11 months ago

      It’s possible there might already be power nearby somewhere and adding a 120v plug isn’t that complicated. If they can’t put it on it’s own meter, you might need to enter into some agreement with the owner where you show them your cars monthly charging and then pay them accordingly, or they might do a fixed rate.

      There are options there.

      It really comes down to the owner and how much of a dick they want to be.

      • themelm@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        11 months ago

        Its not complicated but it wouldn’t be cheap to pay an electrician to properly install an outlet out to the parking lot. If you own the condo it would be worth it probably but paying out of pocket for a rental units infrastructure I don’t see paying off for the prospective electric car owner.

        Its always way more work than people expect to “just install a new plug here” in an existing and finished place. I would say the solution here is to require rental property owners to start supplying outlets to parking lots.

        Maybe I’m wrong. People should get a quote for getting it done if they’re interested. But I think it’ll be surprisingly pricy in most places.