The idea of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is to be the best of both worlds. They’re much more efficient than a traditional ICE vehicle or a conventional hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) thanks to their ability to run on electricity alone, but they don’t come with the range anxiety of an EV thanks to their gas engines. However, despite their benefits, PHEV sales and customer satisfaction rates are lower than those of EVs.
According to a report from J.D. Power, plug-in hybrids still account for less than two percent of the total automobile market. Meanwhile, EVs have a 9.4-percent share, and conventional hybrids are more popular, with a 10.7-percent share. This is despite the U.S. car market having more PHEV options (41) than HEV options (39).
Part of the reason the PHEV market share is so low is that they’re actually significantly more expensive than similar EVs and HEVs on average. In the compact SUV category, the average transaction prices are $36,900 for a BEV, $37,700 for a HEV, and $48,700 for a plug-in hybrid.
The few buyers who are opting for PHEVs aren’t very satisfied with them. According to J.D. Power’s measurement of customer satisfaction, PHEV owners only score a 669 on a 1,000-point scale. That score is 716 for mass-market BEVs and 738 for premium BEVs.
Buick GL8 PHEV available in China
This data comes out while we await more details on GM’s plan to re-introduce PHEV models to North America, which it announced earlier this year. The General pioneered plug-in hybrid engineering and technology with the 2011 Chevy Volt, the first mass-market plug-in hybrid car. However, it abandoned plug-in hybrids in North America altogether when it discontinued the second-gen Volt in 2019.
Since the initial announcement of the re-introduction of PHEV models to the North American market, GM has said they’re coming by 2027 and that the automaker is assessing which segments are right for plug-in hybrid powertrains. However, no official announcements have been made yet about specific models.
Chevy Equinox Plus available in China
For what it’s worth, GM’s PHEV technology already exists and is marketed in other parts of the world. For example, there’s a plug-in version of the Chevy Equinox called the Equinox Plus that’s built and sold in China. However, it’s not coming to the States because of costly tariffs and because it’s “a vehicle with a different purpose,” according to our interview with Chevy Global Vice President Scott Bell.
Comments
Because morons pay and arm and a leg for PHEVs, charge them once and then never again. Due to the tiny range. Money right down the toidy. Oh well…
This is understandable for those who really look at it. By and far, the vehicles with the least moving parts and stuff to go wrong is the EV’s. Compare that to the PHEV’s where you not only have the “EV” side of it, but you add in the ICE part as well. On top of that, you then have the complications of having that EV side and ICE side work together. Then as Beachy29579 said, people become frustrated with the lower ranges and seldom charge. Thus they pay way more and are truly getting less. On top of that, you have the weight of not only the battery side but also the traditional ICE components. The traditional hybrids are similar, but you do have a little less complication since there’s no additional components for the charging/plug side. But I do understand that attraction to PHEV’s. Even I find myself attracted to the idea. But then I snap back to reality and say no. I’ll stay with my EV thank you.
Since neither of you own a PHEV, why are you such experts???
I own a 2018 Chevy Volt, have a level 2 charger at home which requires nothing more complicated than an additional 220v circuit like a dryer and put under $40.00 of gas per month all while doing much more driving than either of you.
It’s an awesome car, very reliable, comfortable, reasonably fast and will do long runs when necessary ( Reno to LA etc.)
If you don’t drive one you’ll never know.
Neither of you have your
You sir are right on target ! Why they use the VOLT as an example here is beyond me ?
I have a 2017 VOLT and I get 64 to 69 miles on a charge and 45 miles or better
with the gas engine. The new PHEV’s coming out are garbage compared to
the VOLT – Period, end of story !
@Volt Driver: You may be correct about the other person, but you are wrong about my experience. I did lease a PHEV a couple years ago (Volvo S60). I work with brands that have PHEV’s. I train with them. And there’s a reason why I went back to a BEV.
But all that aside, you seem to take a quite simple minded view of it. So let’s go over a couple of facts that you can either deny or maybe you will become educated more. First, does a PHEV (any of them) have an ICE? Do they have batteries? Can they run on only gas or only electric? Do they have a port to plug into? The answer to all of those is yes. Therefore you have BOTH the maintenance of ICE as well as the complexity of EV. More moving parts and electronics than even ICE alone. Are you with me yet?
Next. do you still have to put gas in your PHEV? Yes. Do you still have to do routine maintenance? Yes. More than an EV. So all this adds up to buyers who are less satisfied with a PHEV than with BEV. And I can tell you with 100% certainty that at least Mazda and Volvo have a lot of issues with the PHEV’s they sell. So don’t come on here and act like you are the know all just because you drive one. There’s a heck of a lot more to it than what your brain is obviously capable of soaking in.
crazy talk, I am on my fifth phev, they run until 400,000 miles and get awesome gas mileage and require maintenance less often. Brakes? one of mine has 200,000 miles and I still cannot justify replacing brakes! Amazing how nice it is to get awesome mileage, great torque, and easily cruise and 90 mph comfortably, but obviously most places are more like 70 all day long. But… there are people who want old timey plain gas, or only want all electric. I get it, I own all of them, Suburban, Corvette, but my go to long distance car is the phev. The world is not just one , or the other, it is a blend of all of them, we want people in EV that commute in cities sitting in traffic, so there is more cheap gasoline for rest of us for motorcycles, boats, sports cars, trucks. So let them have EV, and lets get more gas for us.
Your facts straight.
for those against new tech, I recommend bring back carburetors, spark plugs you rebuild, who needs starters, lets crank em by hand, or maybe you want horse and buggy.
Add mechanical distributirs, with points and capacitors. I still rrmember filing or changing points in my Dad’s Chevy and Olds. When I bought my 1975 Chevy Vega with HEI, I was extremely happy to drop one engine maintenance item! Now in EVs, there are no more engine bay maintenance except washer fluid.
Buyer beware. Make it and see if they will come.
As for PHEVs, seems tbst Toyota fans are on love with their Prius Prime and others. Maybe they don’t have any place to chsrge at all.
I know many of you will not accept this, but the reason for the emphasis to switch to EVs is to help bring down the carbon dioxide level so that we don’t have to worry about super charged hurricanes, forest fires, and 115 in the shade. I live in the Great Lakes region, and so far there has not been anything that comes close to what some of the people in the far west and in the south eastern United States have experienced. We, as Americans, each have to do our part to help our distant neighbors not have to go through the trauma that so many have experienced. Just think what it must be like to experience coming back to where your home was, only to find out that it has been completely destroyed. I had a Bolt, but when GM said they were going to discontinue them, thus kill my resale value, I bought a 2019 Volt three years ago that had only 22,000 miles on it (I had to drive to Niagara Falls to get it!). Get car! I just looked at a Chevy EV Equinox and am waiting to see what the new Bolt will be like. In case you don’t know, GM is including an adapter for some models so that Tesla’s chargers can be used. Also, I read in the business sec. of the paper that GM and 5 other car manufactures (not Ford) are pairing up to build 30,000 chargers across the U.S. by 2030.