Classical hybrid cars could be among the losers in the e-car boom. Worldwide sales of twin-motor vehicles are stalling, purely electric cars are catching up, according to statistics from the consulting firm Inovev.
The experts expect sales of 1,65 million classic hybrid cars without a socket connection for the current year. That would be a slight plus compared to the weak previous year, but the strong growth of the years 2010 to 2014 is obviously over. At that time, hybrid car sales doubled from 0,85 million to 1,65 million vehicles.
The hybrid cars are now facing strong competition from vehicles with pure electric drive and plug-in hybrid models. If 2014 was sold 5,7 times more hybrid vehicles than e-cars (0,3 million), it is now only 2,7 times more (for 0,6 million e-cars).
Japan remains the largest hybrid market, which probably accounts for 59 percent of global sales this year. It is followed by the USA with 19 percent and Europe with 13 percent. The strongest manufacturer is Toyota with a market share of 70 percent.
The recently launched Prius should also be one of the most important reasons for the slight increase in the annual sales balance. The new hybrid cars from the Hyundai Kia Group, the Hyundai Ioniq and the Kia Niro also come as support. The German and most other European manufacturers, on the other hand, now completely do without classic hybrid models, instead opting for plug-in hybrid technology or pure e-cars. (Holger Holzer / SP-X)