The UK’s best-selling vehicle in March is £2,000 more expensive than an equivalent EV.
Plug-in hybrid cars ‘won’t deliver’ as drivers risk being £4,150 worse off
Drivers are saving £4,150 when buying electric cars – as plug-in hybrids “won’t deliver.” The UK’s best-selling vehicle in March is £2,000 more expensive than an equivalent EV.
New data shows eight of the 10 most popular hybrids in the UK cost more to buy than electric equivalents. Motorists are paying an average of £4,150 more for the Recommended Retail Price of a plug-in hybrid when compared to a similar electric vehicle.
On average, plug-in hybrids are 10 per cent more expensive to purchase than zero emission vehicles, which could potentially put off many drivers.
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The plug-in hybrid version of the UK’s best-selling car in March, the Jaecoo 7, is £2,000 more expensive to purchase than the Omoda E5 electric vehicle.
Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, warned drivers looking to switch that plug-in hybrids “won’t deliver the savings that are promised to them”.
He said: “In real life, PHEVs rely on petrol for most of their driving – and burn much more of it than their manufacturers claim.
“This leaves them vulnerable to the rising fuel prices that are hitting petrol and diesel drivers hard when they go to fill up at the pump.
“The best way that drivers can reduce their exposure to spikes in global oil markets is shift to vehicles that don’t need oil to move – EVs.”
Mr Walker also hit out at the Labour Party government over its decision to incentivise the sale of plug-in hybrids by allowing their sale after 2030, when new petrol and diesel cars will be banned.
“Maintaining these targets will help the UK enhance its energy security, and shield its drivers from shocks in global oil markets, by encouraging the uptake of EVs, increasingly powered by electricity generated in British wind and solar farms,” he added.