- Sales growth for hybrid cars is outpacing growth for electric vehicles this year.
- Ford is one automaker reaping the benefits, with demand for its Maverick truck spiking.
- "Hybrids now have very few compromises compared to their gas alternatives," Ford's Andrew Frick said.
It's shaping up to be a comeback year for hybrid cars — and that's partly because they're now nearly as good as their conventional vehicles, according to a Ford executive.
"Hybrids now have very few compromises compared to their gas alternatives," Andrew Frick, head of Ford's the Detroit automaker's gas and hybrid vehicle division, told The Wall Street Journal this week.
Hybrids have a traditional engine that charges batteries to power one or more electric motors, which makes them more efficient than gas-only vehicles. Many do not need to be plugged in like EVs, although some models can also be charged like one.
Frick's comments come as demand for hybrid vehicles soars, partly due to drivers' worries about charging electric cars. Those concerns have dented sales of EVs in recent months.
Another benefit of hybrids is that they're a lot cheaper than their fully electric rivals. Buyers were paying $42,500 on average for hybrids in late 2023, according to data from Edmunds, compared with $60,500 for EVs and $47,500 for gas cars.
Cox Automotive expects 14% of the 15.7 million new vehicles sold in the US this year to be hybrids, higher than the 10% market share for EVs. There are about 70 hybrid models to choose from and they're often significantly cheaper than electric cars.
Hybrid car sales growth in January was five times that of EVs, according to data from Morgan Stanley, with Ford emerging as one of the major beneficiaries of that trend.
Sales of Ford hybrids jumped 37% in the first two months of 2024, with the hybrid version of the Maverick pickup truck leading the charge.
Freedom of choice
The hybrid Maverick starts at about $25,300 — some $1,500 more than the gas version. About 60% of those buying a hybrid Maverick are first-time Ford customers, product development operations chief Jim Baumbick previously told Business Insider. That's far higher than the figure for other models.
"I know that hybrids will play a role for an extended time," he said. "For us, the freedom of choice and democratizing the technology for customers to select what's best for how they live their lives is really important."
Ford also added more hybrid options to the F-150 model range for 2024.
Toyota, which pioneered hybrids with the Prius, has also benefited. The Japanese carmaker reported an 84% increase in hybrid and EV sales in February and recently topped a poll of the brands most considered by EV buyers — even though it only sells one fully electric car.
In November Toyota said the Camry will only be available as a hybrid from 2025. The model has been America's best-selling car for more than two decades.
This week the White House gave automakers more time to ramp up EV sales following pressure from the industry and unions.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued the strictest limits to date on tailpipe pollution from vehicles sold between 2027 and 2032. They could see EVs claim a share of up to 56% of new car sales — a big jump from 7.6% in 2023.