Where are PHEV’s going to go?

There are many variables which go into the future of PHEV’s, but they can be boiled down to convenience and economics. Currently the pay back period for owning a PHEV is 13 years, but with possible rising gas prices coupled with a lowering of the cost of purchase, that PBP could be drastically reduced. One avenue which the price of purchase could be reduced in the future is from improvements in battery technology. For PHEV’s to have a large impact, battery prices will have to drop. Battery efficiency increases will most likely reduce the impact of PHEV’s because their other major selling point is the consumers fear of not having enough range in an EV. Because of those two conflicting factors, I believe that PHEV’s will be very influential until battery technology increases to a degree that there is no practical use to have the reserve internal combustion engine.

Author: Justin Pié

Editor: Raji Gunasekera