Euroviews. Hybrid vehicles have proven to be the right choice for decarbonisation

Regardless of what you think of the phrase "the customer is always right", there is a key truth to it: customers are the ones who set consumption habits and trends. Nowhere is this fact more important to keep in mind than in today’s automotive sector.

As both governments and automakers seek solutions to the global challenge of decarbonised mobility at scale, they need to ensure they deliver options to consumers that are well-suited to consumer needs. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to sustainable mobility.

In Europe, we’ve seen significant growth in adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) over the past several years. However, most recently, we’ve seen a significant and surprising trend at play: consumers flooding to hybrids en masse.

Just by April this year, hybrids have seen an astronomical surge in demand, with HEV sales rising by 33.1%. This completely outstripped all other vehicle categories, including EVs, whose sales rose by 14.8% in the same period.

According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, 35.9% of European new car registrations in April were either hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

By contrast, petrol-only cars made up only 36% of sales. This all suggests that hybrids are becoming a new standard mobility option for European consumers.

What explains this degree of demand for hybrid vehicles? In my opinion, it comes down to something embedded deep in the architecture of all hybrids: versatility.

EVs are undoubtedly part of the future. They offer consumers and fleets a sustainable, zero-emissions mode of transport, driving decarbonisation. And, at present, they are an ideal mobility solution for dense and urbanised environments.

EVs are ideal