These are being touted as the future. They are intelligent, do not burn holes in your pockets and also are clean on the environment. Hybrids, that run on a combination of battery power and a fuel (petrol/diesel), are vehicles of the future, also catching the fancy of governments and car companies worldwide.
Toyota?s Prius is among the successful hybrids in the world and other carmakers like Honda and General Motors are also charging into the segment. According to reports, the US market saw sales of new hybrid cars up 49% in the first seven months of 2007 as 2,15,997 new hybrid vehicles were registered in the period compared with 1,44,721 in the same period of 2006.
The US and Japan offer a subsidy of almost $2,000 a car for hybrids while in the UK, the Prius has been exempted from the London congestion charge.
Critics, however, cite some shortcomings of the technology. Apart from high price and maintenance costs, increased car weight and faltering battery life can be possible trouble makers. Also, more energy is required to build a hybrid as it is a more complicated vehicle; it requires more copper wire than a regular car; and its battery that weighs more than 100 pounds?a potential environmental hazard, according to reports.
Also, vehicles like Prius cannot run on a battery alone mode if out of petrol. Although it can operate in electric-only mode when petrol is in the tank, it is not designed to run without petrol. Doing so could cause damage to the hybrid system. So, like any other car, drivers should make sure to keep petrol in the tank of their Prius at all times.
A favourable policy regime would not only prompt companies like Toyota and Honda to launch their hybrid vehicles in India but would also come in as an incentive to domestic players like Mahindra who are also working on hybrid engines to be used in their vehicles.