Let’s have an open discussion here. Where should you start if you’re looking to go electric? Plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles (PHEV or BEV)? We’ve discussed BEV’s in great detail over the years, but barely touched on the topic of plug-in hybrids.
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a internal combustion and electric motor powered vehicle with a battery pack that can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source. Most PHEVs are passenger cars, but there are also PHEV versions of commercial vehicles and vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, mopeds, and even military vehicles.
Virtually every major car manufacturer is offering or is going to release a Plug-in Hybrid this year. Why? It’s about two things the cost of ownership and taking advantage of a growing market.
Firstly buying a plug-in hybrid makes a lot more sense than a mild hybrid (non-plugin hybrid). It’s because a plug-in hybrid actually saves you money! Unlike a conventional mild hybrid, they have huge batteries (sometimes half the size of a BEV vehicle). These batteries are so large your plug-in hybrid can drive in most urban environments on the electric motors alone and not burn any petrol. Additionally when you do use the fuel motor it’s normally for highway or country which is normally in a high ratio gear. This makes driving on fuel a lot more efficient than conventional urban + extra urban driving.
Lastly there’s the cost… Buying a plug-in hybrid is normally cheaper that buying the all electric equivalents especially in the Australian SUV market. This may shift soon however. MG have both PHEV and EV SUV’s on offer. Ironically enough the plug-in MG HS is just $500 cheaper than the ZS BEV. MG is an entry EV brand on the Australian market, but the price gap been very narrow is very apparent. Which raises the question is going plug-in vs all electric really worth it?
Change is coming and JUCER provides the equipment to welcome it. You can view their affordable, high-quality portable charger for electric cars, type 2 EV cable, and type 2 charging cable adaptor, as well as other great EV products at their online store: jucer.com.au.
Disclaimer: JUCER does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the data and accepts no liability whatsoever arising from or connected in any way to the use or reliance upon this data.
