Plug-in hybrids are taking over EV sales. It wasn't meant to happen this wayIn short:
Sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are booming, while the market share of full-battery electric vehicles remains steady.
PHEVs now account for a quarter of EVs sold, as competing sides argue over whether they're a "stepping stone" or a "handbrake" to vehicle electrification.
What's next?
More automotive brands are launching new PHEV models into the Australian market, despite tax changes making PHEV ownership more expensive.
It's the "transition technology" that isn't going away.
For years, sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which can burn fuel or run off a battery, have been tipped to fall as full-battery electric vehicles (BEVs) take their place.
But in Australia, another story is unfolding.
PHEV sales are booming.
One year ago, not a single PHEV ute had been sold anywhere in Australia.
Today, there are more than 12,000 on our roads, and a PHEV is the fourth best-selling ute in the country.
To some, PHEVs are a necessary "stepping stone" in the process of vehicle electrification, helping Australians get used to battery-powered cars.
But others argue PHEVs simply prolong our costly love affair with unnecessarily large cars.
These hybrids, they say, are effectively gas guzzlers dressed up as EVs, or "wolves in sheep's clothing".
So why are Australians reluctant to drop the fuel tank entirely, and what does it mean for reducing emissions?
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