Comments on: Why can’t hybrid cars be cheaper than cars that run on gas?

By: Michael D

Michael D — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:08:45 +0000

Hybrid cars are more expensive than gas only cars because they have two engines. One is an electric motor powered by a a battery pack and the other is a gas engine powered by… well, gas.

Putting two engines into one car is more expensive than putting in one engine.

That’s why a federal tax credit was made available for those who buy hybrid cars, to help defray the cost of early adopters.

The nice thing is hybrid car maintenance is no less expensive than for a gas only car. Also, replacing the battery if it failed (a very, very rare occurence) would fall under the warranty and would be replaced by the car maker. Same for any of the electrical engine parts.

In the long run, you can save money buying a hybrid car over buying a gas only car. It can take anywhere from 3 to 7 years to do so.

By: ash

ash — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:58:49 +0000

Another reason is that Chevron Texaco bought the patent to the Ovonic NiMH battery, and anyone who develops anything similar to it has to pay them a licensing fee (or they sue them). They charge $1200/kWh for the battery used in today’s hybrids vs the actual cost being around $150/kWh.

By: Borat S

Borat S — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:16:45 +0000

The reason why is simple. Hybrid cars are cars with 2 engines. There is an electric motor, and there’s a petrol motor. So it costs
more with 2 motors. Understand? That’s why they’re called hybrids. A mix of 2 motors working together.

By: kar

kar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:40:54 +0000

the world is a scary palace.

By: ranger_co_1_75

ranger_co_1_75 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:43:50 +0000

Two reasons. First new technology always cost more until a demand causes mass production to kick in and bring the price down.

Second because Hybred cars have twice the components of a standard internal combustion engine car. The have two engines, gas & electric, two wiring harness, guages and sensors to control each engine, two computers, etc. Oh yeah don’t forget a monster bank of batteries.

In actual road test, hybrid cars don’t get as good gas mileage or power performance as comparable sized cars with gasoline engines because of all the added weight.

By: Mmmkay?

Mmmkay? — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:48:48 +0000

Because they are more expensive to produce. The technology that goes into them is unbelievable.

By: DefenseEngineer

DefenseEngineer — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:30:28 +0000

A hybrid car requires more parts. It requires both an internal combustion engine (so they still run on gas or diesel), electric motors, extra batteries, and another the associated equipment to operate the electric motors. Who else is going to pay for it if not the consumer?

By: Steven D

Steven D — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:16:33 +0000

Right now we are paying for the research and development. Eventually they will become more affordable. Look how the prices for computers have dropped in the last 5 years.

By: hello kitty

hello kitty — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:43:06 +0000

probably because it takes more money to get the items to make on and they are probabably very hard to create and take a lot of time. But they should make them cheaper because they are better for the enviroment!