Electric vs. Hybrid

With the never ending increase in fuel prices, the amount of harmful emissions that are produced by vehicles around the world, and more stringent emission regulations being created, the demand for alternative fuel powered vehicles is on the rise.

The question now for the average customer: Electric or Hybrid? Both have interesting merits and limitations and we will be discussing them here on Stain on Paper.

Electric Vehicles

Tesla Motors Inc.

The current poster child for electric vehicles (EV) is Paypal founder, Elon Musk

 (Yes, that is his name) and his electric car company, Tesla Motor Incorporated. Their crown jewel, the Tesla S is what all EVs want to be when they grow up.

The Tesla S has a driving range of 464 kilometers before it has to be recharged. Despite its 3M PHp  retail price, twenty thousand units of the Tesla S have been sold in one year putting to shame General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt EV and the Nissan Leaf EV.  And in the looks department, the Tesla S makes the other EVs look like soccer-mom vans. (Side note: the first person in the Philippines to own a Tesla S as a gift? none other than current Meralco chairman, MVP)

Not to be outdone, other car companies like Nissan-Renault, Volkswagen, and GM are stepping up to the challenge of a mass produced EV. Carlos Ghosn, Nissan-Renault CEO, promised that Nissan would bring affordable autonomous cars to the public by 2020. 

The Pros of EV

The advantages of EVs aside from their complete independence from fossil fuel (yay! For mother Earth!) is because of the torque that's instantly available when you push the accelerator. Steve Wickham, the project manager for Toyota's EV effort at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, agrees: "With current technology, the main advantage for an electric supercar would be in initial acceleration for launch and corner exit… not having to change gears." EVs have some performance advantages in the packaging of components, too, he says. "These include aero[dynamics] and also a lower center of gravity. Electric motors can be long and thin, keeping the mass down, and batteries can be kept very low with clever design such as Tesla has shown in the Model S."

The Cons of EV: Low Energy Density and High Manufacturing Cost

The current challenges faced by all these car companies are found in the battery. Low energy density (amount of energy stored per volume of battery) 

keeps the range of EVs lower than those normally achieved by petroleum aided vehicles. The low energy density means that a huge amount of the EVs total weight is attributed to the huge amount of batteries installed thus affecting its performance, efficiency and range. Another limit is the price tag of EVs due to the high cost of manufacturing these batteries. The amount of time to charge these batteries is also a factor to weigh in. Final thing to consider: the lack of infrastructure to support the EVs such as charging stations.

Hybrid Vehicles

Toyota

The main proponent of hybrids is Toyota and their Prius. The world’s largest automaker has declared that it is sticking to hybrids and fuel cell vehicles for the car of the future. In Washington last Sept. 30, Toyota chair Takeshi Uchiyamada said the reason why Toyota doesn't introduce any major all-electric vehicle is “because we do not believe there is a market to accept it.”  He added: “Some people say hybrid vehicles such as the Prius are only a bridge to the future.  But we think it could be a long bridge and a very sturdy one.  There are many more gains we can achieve with hybrids.  The Prius has become the most important vehicle for our future.”

The Pros of Hybrids

Hybrid vehicles solve the range problem that plagues their EV counterparts. These Hybrids focus more on efficiency in energy usage. By offering the best of both worlds: range capability of engines and the torque possible in electric motors, hybrids are the love child of a match made in heaven.

According to phys.org:

“Another benefit of having the gas motor is it charges the batteries while it’s running. The gas motors starts automatically when the battery gets low and proceeds to charge the battery - a hybrid never needs to be plugged into an outlet. Of course, if you forget to fill the tank…. Still, you can carry a gas can a half mile while a tow truck is necessary in a straight electric car.”

Right now they’re way cheaper than EVs. So as an owner you would be happy that you’re making the environment better without having your wallet to suffer.

The Cons

Higher maintenance costs. Hybrid vehicles also cost more to repair because of the complexity of the dual compulsion system used in most hybrid vehicles. Not all mechanics are trained or equipped to work on hybrid vehicles and repair bills will be larger than with standard ICE vehicles. Also, because of the increased weight of hybrid vehicles, you can expect to replace tires and brakes more frequently as well.

Well Stainers! Hope this helps inform you about EVs and Hybrids.

References:

http://motioncars.inquirer.net/16775/cars-of-the-future-electric-or-hybrid#sthash.uKYTimBk.dpuf http://autos.yahoo.com/news/are-ev-supercars-destined-to-surpass-gas-burners--174207838.html

http://phys.org/news10031.html#jCp