Mostly they don’t. My understanding is that most hybrids use the same basic infrastructure as EVs, that is, electrify the components, supply electricity to a battery with a small petrol engine. I would think (but admittedly don’t know) that the transition to “all EV” would be a lot easier for a hybrid manufacturer than it would be for an all ICE manufacturer. In any event, Toyota has years to decide, a luxury the others do not have.
I just did 2,000 miles from Knoxville to Kentucky to New Jersey to Boston and back via a different route. It was doable, although as I was alone, and have tolerance for minor glitches, I was fine. Had I been traveling with Mrs. Goofy there were several times when she would have been freaking out. Still, no matter where I was, there was always a solution.
(I am not one to carefully plot out every step or stop, I drove, and when the time seemed appropriate started looking on the scrolling list on the dash for a high speed charger. Only once was I truly SOL, around Harrisburg PA (weird, you would think a state capital would be prime territory) but I had to stop anyway and found a motel with a Level 2.)
Admittedly most of this was in relatively dense territories, although Kentucky and Western Mass were more rural. As a side note, I travel to a small town in Kentucky every couple months to see a buddy who had a stroke; the first time, last winter, there was one high speed charger on the trip. Now there are three.
It’s coming. It just takes some time.
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This may be an example of why a notable percent of people who try an EV go back to ICE. They say to themselves ‘I don’t need this sh-t. There are other alternatives out there.’
My wife’s experiences with a Volt in a Wisconsin winter led us to sell it. And so it goes (slowly).
DB2
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Yes, that’s why I mentioned it. As analogy I will give what I said to Mrs. Goofy. When the Apple ][ came out I had one. She couldn’t imagine why. It occasionally crashed, took up more time to figure out than she was willing to endure, and so on. But from that humble first step I bought a ][e, then a Mac, then many more. And now Mrs. Goofy has a laptop and and iPhone and can’t imagine life without them.
Right out of the box technologies usually come with some bumps in the road, and EVs (pardon the obvious reference) is surely one of those. It’s also (speaking as an owner) an undeniable technology which complements, perhaps replaces the one we’ve had for a century. I’m willing to put up with those foibles. Some are not.
That’s why sociologists group people into “early adopters”, “fast followers” (me), and so on down the line, until you get to the “mass market consumer”. We are years away from that in the EV business, but with the continuing rollout of charging infrastructure and long term cost benefit (more apparent at the next gas price inflection) it will continue. It’s quite undeniable, really.
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Re: Hybrid vs EV
I suspect that a typical EV is much heavier than a hybrid–maybe as much as 50% heavier–due to larger battery. Electrical components may be similar but heavier tires, frame, etc are required.
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Probably not.
Story notes that EVs are about 10-15% heavier than their equal ICE counterparts.
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