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Hybrids Are Starting to Lose Ground to EVs in London, Tax Exemption Lifted

Hybrids were these weird vehicles that people who wanted to look like they care about the planet drove fifteen years ago when the Toyota Prius was making its first feeble steps. In the meantime, their place has been taken by battery-powered fully-electric cars, while hybrid powertrains have become so mainstream, even Ferrari uses them. Oh, wait, that came out wrong.
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Photo: Screenshot from Google Streetview
But you get the point. Having both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor in the same car has long ceased to be something extraordinary, or necessarily linked to lower fuel consumption and the associated CO2 emissions. Sporty hybrids have become the norm, with the now famous electric torque providing the needed boost at low revs.

Hybrids have also developed a second class, a sort of hybrid-hybrid where the ICE and electric motor is combined with a larger battery pack that can be charged directly from a power outlet. The mild-hybrids are joined by the plug-in hybrids, cars that come with an increased electric maximum range that, theoretically, give them the ability to run exclusively on electric power if they don't exceed that limited number of miles during their daily commute.

The hybrids enjoy some special treatment in Europe ranging from purchase incentives to free parking in town centers or exemption from the congestion charge applied to all vehicles entering London's city center. Less than two weeks from now, this exemption will be lifted for mild hybrids, which means that only battery-powered vehicles - EVs or PHEVs - will still be allowed to roam freely inside the British capital.

The decision was in fact made two years ago, but mild-hybrid users were given two years to come to grips with the new situation. The ban doesn't specifically make the distinction between mild-hybrids and plug-in hybrids, but restricts the access for any vehicle that emits more than 75g of CO2 per kilometer. For instance, the new Toyota Prius is rated at 76 C02 g/km, which is either funny or frustrating, depending whether you own one of these cars and also live in London.

At this rate, it won't be long until no motorized vehicle other than EVs will be allowed inside the restricted zone, so even if somebody will come up with a mild-hybrid capable of sub-75 g/km emissions - as highly unlikely as that is -, it still might prove not to be enough.

However, if you find the decision a bit unfair, you're right. Just because a PHEV has been rated for lower CO2 emissions, that number is only valid as long as it uses the battery power. Once that is gone, it will essentially become a mild-hybrid, emitting at least just as much CO2 as any of them. But you probably already knew that life isn't exactly fair.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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