Background car news Electric

Plug-in hybrid cars for many years offered a practical middle ground between conventional gasoline and diesel cars and all-electric cars (EVs). A plug-in hybrid (also abbreviated to PHEV, which stands for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) combines a fuel engine with an electric motor. The idea is that you can drive short trips (up to, say, 50 km) fully electric, while still having the convenience of a fuel engine for long distances or if you can’t recharge for a while.

On the one hand, technology is developing, which means that there are already plug-in hybrids that can drive over 100 kilometers fully electric. On the other hand, it turns out that plug-in hybrids are often used ‘incorrectly’ in practice. For example, they are recharged much less often than the manufacturer intended, which means that in practice they consume much more fuel than the official WLTP value indicates. Therefore, many financial benefits for plug-in hybrids have been (or are being) phased out again from the government. This begs the question: how relevant is a PHEV anymore? Right now, but certainly also in the longer term? In this article, we consider several aspects.

Why PHEVs were once attractive

Plug-in hybrids have been popular for a number of obvious reasons. As mentioned, they combine the advantage of electric driving with the flexibility of a fuel car. Those who use their plug-in hybrid as intended usually drive fully electric, saving a lot on fuel, while also being carefree on the road if you want to take a long trip or if there is no charging station nearby for a while.

Especially when fully electric cars were not as far developed as they are today, the plug-in hybrid was seen as an “ideal” alternative or intermediate solution. Therefore, there were various financial benefits from the government. Think of a lower road tax, or a lower additional tax rate for business drivers. Because a PHEV has very low fuel consumption according to the official WLTP measurement cycle, the purchase tax(bpm) is also nice and low.

In short, the combination of reasonable electric range, good practicality and financial incentives made PHEVs a logical choice for many buyers and leasing companies.

Why the future is uncertain – changing policies and regulations

Meanwhile, the sentiment around plug-in hybrids has changed. Too many people bought (or leased) one because of the financial benefits, but then rarely actually charged the car. The official WLTP value for consumption and emissions assumes correct usage, i.e., driving electric as often as possible. Studies showed that plug-in hybrids consume and emit much more in practice because they are undercharged. This is why more and more people are finding that PHEVs have received unfair tax breaks.

Partly for this reason, the road tax rebate and addition benefit for plug-in hybrids have already been phased out or eliminated entirely in recent years. Starting in 2026, there will be no financial benefits at all for PHEVs. Well, of course, charging more often and thus driving electric instead of filling up with fuel remains an option. But those who already neatly hung their plug-in hybrid on the charger will thus soon be more expensive.

Incidentally, work is also underway to modify the WLTP test cycle for plug-in hybrids, with a smaller share of electric driving and thus an official consumption value that should better reflect real-world conditions. In the Netherlands, however, higher WLTP consumption would also mean that the plug-in hybrid would become more expensive to buy, because the bpm is linked to the car’s official CO2 emissions.

Technological developments and PHEV innovations.

Leaving government policy aside for a moment, the plug-in hybrid is also going through some developments. On the technological front. Electrified powertrains are becoming more and more efficient, and often plug-in hybrids are also equipped with larger batteries. For a long time an all-electric range of around 50 km was the standard for a PHEV, now there are already several models that can drive around 100 km all-electric. There are even some outliers that reach 200 km, although this is the WLTP value.

You can also see that the electric driving mode is becoming more prominent. The fuel engine is increasingly seen as a “backup,” supporting the electric motor rather than the other way around. Often there is also smart software that ensures that the plug-in hybrid drives electric at the most relevant times. For example, some models recognize that they are driving in a city and then switch to all-electric mode. The fuel is then “saved” for the longer highway drive later in the journey.

The dividing line between a “traditional” plug-in hybrid and an electric car with a range extender is thus becoming ever smaller. Both involve a car that has both electric motors and a fuel engine. The difference is that in an electric car with range extender, the fuel engine is only there to generate power. If the fuel engine can also drive the wheels, then it is a plug-in hybrid.

The tricky thing about the plug-in hybrid is that the concept only works well when the user “cooperates,” or charges the car when it can or is needed. In some models, the car tries to encourage the user to actually charge. For example, by explicitly indicating where charging stations are located or actively suggesting a charging session with a notification.

So, are plug-in hybrids still interesting?

To what extent the plug-in hybrid is still interesting as a form of drive is difficult to say unequivocally. According to some, they are “written off” because there is no more government incentive and they are not charged in practice anyway. According to others, they remain a relevant technology because any form of electrification is better than nothing. The truth will lie somewhere in the middle, but even then it may vary by region.

For the Netherlands, the role of plug-in hybrids is likely to become smaller and smaller. Today, for the price of a plug-in hybrid, you can also buy a fully electric car with more than enough range for most of your trips. Also, the Netherlands has a good charging infrastructure, so you won’t run out of charging stations anytime soon. So that argument for PHEVs is also dropped. In short, those who want to electrify their transportation can already easily go for all-electric.

In broader (international) terms, plug-in hybrids will probably remain relevant for a long time to come. By no means everywhere you have such a dense charging network as we do, and in some countries people make long trips much more often on average. In that case, the plug-in hybrid remains an interesting option. Making long trips without worries and yet also some form of electrification to save on fuel costs (and emissions). As mentioned, in that respect, it remains better than no electrification at all. For the same reason, plug-in hybrids continue to receive tax breaks in some countries: another argument for choosing that form of drive.

Conclusion: plug-in hybrids are at a crossroads

In recent years, plug-in hybrids have meant a lot to the electrification of the Dutch car fleet. They were an attractive alternative to the traditional fuel car, as a “bridge” for those who could not yet make the step to all-electric driving. In that sense, they offered the best of both worlds.

Meanwhile, the plug-in hybrid has arrived at a crossroads, so to speak. Now that all-electric driving is well established and financial (government) benefits for plug-in hybrids have expired, there is actually no longer any reason to choose a plug-in hybrid in the Netherlands if you want to electrify. At the same time, for the time being it does remain a relevant form of drive internationally. The advanced technology also makes it possible for plug-in hybrids to drive longer distances completely electrically, making them a good alternative for regions where full electrification is still a difficult story.

Those considering buying a PHEV now would do well to look critically at their own driving habits, the charging infrastructure in their area and the costs over the long term. PHEVs are not a “depreciated interim solution” anyway, especially when used as intended, but in the Netherlands you might as well opt for all-electric.