At least until very cheap battery production is achieved if that is possible.
Very high miles per gallon hybrid endangers EVs manufacturers. Tesla & BYD could no longer be the darlings of investors as new competition from another angle arrives.
Not long ago, it looked as if Toyota had fallen dangerously behind in electric vehicles. Tesla, the electric car pioneer, has grown rapidly and become the world’s most valuable automaker. Seeing Tesla’s success, other companies, such as General Motors and Ford Motor, concluded that large numbers of consumers were poised to switch to battery-powered cars and trucks and began investing tens of billions of dollars to catch up.
Toyota, however, was more deliberate — or lethargic, its critics would say.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/toyota-s-bet-on-hybrids-was-mocked-then-vindicated-now-it-s-trying-to-repeat-the-trick-with-an-unlikely-bet-on-the-combustion-engine/ar-BB1ndaH0
While many automakers predicted a looming all-EV future, Toyota made gains by emphasizing hybrids over fully electric vehicles—a move that earned it derision before being vindicated over the past year as EV sales sputtered. Now it’s now doubling down with a new take on the traditional car engine.
The world’s largest carmaker said Tuesday that it would develop smaller internal combustion engines that are more optimized for hybrid vehicles and can accept alternative fuels such as biofuels, liquid hydrogen, and synthetic e-fuels in an effort to cut down on emissions.
"In order to provide our customers with diverse options to achieve carbon neutrality, it is necessary to take on the challenge of evolving engines that are in tune with the energy environment of the future,” he said in a Tuesday statement.
And now BYD has a new hybrid capable of 80 mpg.
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/byd-launches-new-hybrid-vehicle-tech-with-lower-fuel-consumption-2024-05-28/
BYD’s chairman Wang Chuanfu unveiled the fifth generation of the hybrid technology that achieves a record low fuel consumption of 2.9 litres per 100 km (62.1 miles) on depleted batteries at an event in Shaanxi province’s capital Xian.
In other words a smidge over 80 mpg!