Hybrid vs Electric Cars Pros and Cons

Although Hybrid and Electric cars remain a niche market in the UK, their popularity is growing. A brief look at the SMMT registration data for 2022 can give you an idea of where the market currently stands:

• Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs): 267,203 cars sold in 2022. A 40.1% increase from 2021.
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs): 101,414 cars sold in 2022, a 11.5% decrease from 2021.
• Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs): 187,948 cars sold in 2022, a 27.6% increase from 2021.
• Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles (MHEVs): 219,701 cars sold in 2022, an 10.9% increase from 2021

As things currently stand, the market share of hybrid and electric cars has continued to grow, with new electric vehicles having a 16.1% share of the UK’s new car market in 2022.

Government Incentives for Low-Emissions Vehicles

The UK government seeks to lower the country’s collective carbon footprint, and to do so, it plans to transition to low-emission vehicles by 2030 fully. While this is clearly a step in the right direction for the planet, the realisation of this plan has stirred up mixed reactions from motorists and the car industry.

The issue is not with the transition but rather the time frame. Accordingly, the SMMT had publicly called upon the UK government to assist motorists by requesting zero tax on zero-emission capable vehicles.

Grants to encourage wider take-up of electric vehicles costing no more than £32,000 were axed in June 2022.

Instead, the government is putting more money into the UK charging infrastructure. This reflects widespread anxiety about the limited nature of the current infrastructure and a fear from drivers that they may be left stranded. It’s hoped that a more widely spread and visible charging infrastructure will alleviate some of the fears currently holding drivers back from making the switch.

The government’s On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is investing £30 million to help local authorities roll out charging points in neighbourhoods across the UK. Drivers are currently no more than 25 miles from a rapid charge point anywhere along motorways and major A roads. It’s hoped that by the end of 2023, motorway service stations across the country will average 6 rapid charge points per site, with this rising to 10-12 at larger motorway services.

A range of new hybrid and electric vehicles on the horizon benefit from advanced technology with a myriad of powertrains available. In this article, we break down the pros and cons of hybrid vs electric cars.

What are Hybrid Cars?

Combining conventional diesel or petrol engines with electric motors, hybrid cars are not as green as 100% electric cars, but they produce less CO2 emissions and use less fuel than conventional cars. Hybrid cars are classified into self-charging and plug-in hybrid cars.

Self-charging vehicles can be further split into Full or Mild Hybrid. Full hybrids combine an electric motor with a combustion engine, which operates either independently or simultaneously.

Mild hybrid vehicles use a small electric motor to complement the combustion engine rather than power the vehicle independently. It is attached directly to an engine or transmission, which gives the car a boost when accelerating.

What are Self-Charging Hybrid Cars?

Self-charging hybrids do not require charging through plug-in points. Instead, these vehicles are equipped with a small battery pack that works in tandem with a conventional engine.

How Do Self-Charging Hybrid Cars Work?

The self-charging hybrid’s battery charges as you drive the car through regenerative braking by recovering the energy that your car would typically lose while braking or from the petrol engine.

Since the battery reduces the engine’s effort while accelerating, it reduces the vehicle’s fuel consumption. However, they have smaller battery packs than plug-in hybrids, making them much less efficient.

How do Full Hybrid (FHEV) Cars Work?

In a full hybrid car, the vehicle can operate in a pure electric mode – for example in low-speed environments such as traffic congestion. Under hard acceleration, the car’s hybrid system can then use a combination of the electric motor and the engine to power the wheels.

The hybrid system will determine the best combination of the two power sources based on several factors, including the car’s speed, the battery’s charge level, and how fast the driver is accelerating.

How do Mild Hybrid (MHEV) Cars Work?

The electric motor in a mild hybrid system is generally smaller and less powerful than the electric motor in a full hybrid car. As a result, a mild hybrid car cannot operate in electric-only mode like a full hybrid can. Instead, the electric motor in a mild hybrid car is used to boost the engine’s power during acceleration and to capture energy during braking and deceleration to recharge the battery.

This helps improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions by assisting the ICE during acceleration and capturing energy that would otherwise be lost during braking and deceleration.

Full Hybrid vs Mild Hybrid

Full hybrid cars provide greater fuel efficiency than mild hybrids due to their ability to operate in electric-only mode at low speeds over short distances. This reduces full consumption and produces lower emissions than mild hybrid vehicles.

At present, a full hybrid car is more expensive than a mild hybrid car due to the cost of the larger battery and more complex hybrid system. In addition, a larger battery means that full hybrids are heavier than mild hybrid cars.

Models in the Mazda & Suzuki Range

Mazda Hybrid Vehicles

Mazda calls its self-charging hybrid a ‘mild hybrid’ or ‘M-Hybrid’ as first seen in the new Mazda CX-30. The other cars in Mazda’s self-charging range include the Mazda 3 and the Mazda 2 – the latter coming as both a SKYACTIV variant and a self-charging full hybrid.

The Mazda 2 SKYACTIV vehicles are mild hybrids equipped with internal combustion engines optimised for efficiency using the SKYACTIV technology suite. In comparison, the Mazda 2 Hybrid is a classic full hybrid vehicle that combines a petrol engine with an electric motor and a battery pack and is being built in collaboration with Toyota.

The hybrid technology of the Mazda full/mild hybrid range works by using a generator to capture the vehicles’ energy typically wasted while braking. The energy saved powers the car’s electrical components and saves fuel.

Suzuki Hybrid Vehicles

The Suzuki Ignis, Vitara, S-Cross, Swift and Swace are the vehicles available in Suzuki’s self-charging hybrid range. They come in different builds allowing buyers to customise them to meet their needs.

The vehicle’s batteries fuel its electrical system when sitting at traffic lights and other stops, saving fuel. When the car decelerates, its hybrid system generates electricity to charge its batteries.