After the shutdowns in the spring of 2020 and a slow restart in the third quarter, there was a boost at the end of the same year with increased demand and the need for inventory rebuilding. Since electrification is happening all over the globe and it’s growing at a rapid speed, new ideas, inventions, and also old “forgotten” ones are emerging and taking hold.
One of those ideas is the possibility of upgrading conventional vehicles to hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). While internal combustion engine (ICE) cars are powered by either petrol or diesel engines alone, hybrid cars have an electric motor as well. That motor works either independently or alongside the petrol/diesel engine (usually petrol) to power the vehicle. HEV’s with an electric motor and engine combination don’t need to be plugged into an external power source for recharging of the battery pack. In their case, the engine diverts power to a generator to charge it, or electricity is converted from otherwise wasted kinetic energy using regenerative braking technology.
Hybrid cars, while being more fuel-efficient, are more expensive than similar conventional vehicles (at times over 25% of the price of an ICE car). The cost is partially recovered through fuel savings (as it costs 5p per mile) or regional benefits (for example no Congestion Charge and the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London). Over time, the savings give an advantage for HEVs when compared with ICE models since HEVs save an average of 30%-35% of fuel compared to ICE models. At the same time, there are no significant financial differences when it comes to scheduled maintenance.