First they come for the Diesels

[John_M]

Now - The UK's car industry has hit out at the government over unconfirmed reports ministers will target hybrid vehicles as part of a new emissions crackdown.

[Bazza06]

Just read about this on the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44008098

So any hybrid incapable of doing 50 miles on electric power could be banned by 2040 which means goodbye to the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid vehicle.

They just don’t know what to target next!

[SAC1]

Just read about this on the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44008098

So any hybrid incapable of doing 50 miles on electric power could be banned by 2040 which means goodbye to the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid vehicle.

They just don’t know what to target next!

Aeroplanes, trains, ships, HGVs, plant / earthmoving equipment will all be looking to for plug-in chargers by 2040 as well then!

[gtipirelli]

The all new cayenne E Hybrid launched this week can only do 27 miles on electric

[John_M]

They just don’t know what to target next!

Seems par for course - which "successful" politicians don't think in simple knee jerks?

[johnd]

So any hybrid incapable of doing 50 miles on electric power could be banned by 2040 which means goodbye to the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid vehicle.

Is this a big deal though? What's the average life of a modern car - 15 years say**? So manufacturers have until ca 2025 - still 7 long years away - to increase the (eg) Cayenne or Prius battery range from 27 to 50 miles (assuming that either model is still current then). Difficult to believe that wouldn't be happening anyway, it's what needs to happen to hybrids to make them more viable.

**Edit: I'm not sure what the average life of a modern Porsche might be though? SUV/saloon-type Porsches probably haven't been around long enough to give any real indication. I'm guessing that they're well enough engineered and built to last quite a long time but OTOH the cost of maintenance will get progressively higher as the years tick by. So it may be more a question of economics than actually wearing out and with less of a classic car appeal than the Porsche sports car models as an alternative reason to keep them running.

[Rab J]

I would have thought that most manufactures would be gradually evolving their hybrids to more battery and less IEC power long before 2040. That seems to be whats has happened so far with the current hybrids much more capable on battery alone than the earlier examples.
Also the government, having had the wool pulled over their eyes when the gave concessions to euro 5 and 6 cars only to find manufactures using these as loop holes, don't want a repeat where car companies make gesture hybrids to get around electric power regulations, and are marking their cards early this time so that there can be no confusion.

[John_M]

I would have thought that most manufactures would be gradually evolving their hybrids to more battery and less IEC power long before 2040. That seems to be whats has happened so far with the current hybrids much more capable on battery alone than the earlier examples.

The biggest jump will have been change in battery technology - NIMH to Lithium types which have a much higher energy storage per weight, but that comes with a cost in life expectancy of battery.

If you consider a hybrid as a way of making a normal engine more efficient - then I am not sure having an arbitrary distance on electrical power is sensible as it will likely add more weight and as a result may not achieve best efficiency - you'd be much better just setting and measuring real world economy targets. If you want as much distance in electric mode then ditch the heavy engine and running gear it needs.

The only way I see this is sensible is a way to counter over range anxiety in push to Electric cars.

I think we need much better batteries which is, as has been for last 20 years or so, just around the corner or fuel cell systems that will work for numbers required.

[andreas]

Is this a big deal though? What's the average life of a modern car - 15 years say**? So manufacturers have until ca 2025 - still 7 long years away - to increase the (eg) Cayenne or Prius battery range from 27 to 50 miles (assuming that either model is still current then). Difficult to believe that wouldn't be happening anyway, it's what needs to happen to hybrids to make them more viable.

**Edit: I'm not sure what the average life of a modern Porsche might be though? SUV/saloon-type Porsches probably haven't been around long enough to give any real indication. I'm guessing that they're well enough engineered and built to last quite a long time but OTOH the cost of maintenance will get progressively higher as the years tick by. So it may be more a question of economics than actually wearing out and with less of a classic car appeal than the Porsche sports car models as an alternative reason to keep them running.

The proposed change of legislation for 2040 only relates to new cars offered for sale, existing cars will still be OK to use.

[Col Lamb]

So any hybrid incapable of doing 50 miles on electric power could be banned by 2040 which means goodbye to the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid vehicle.

Is this a big deal though? What's the average life of a modern car - 15 years say**? So manufacturers have until ca 2025 - still 7 long years away - to increase the (eg) Cayenne or Prius battery range from 27 to 50 miles (assuming that either model is still current then). Difficult to believe that wouldn't be happening anyway, it's what needs to happen to hybrids to make them more viable.


**Edit: I'm not sure what the average life of a modern Porsche might be though?

SUV/saloon-type Porsches probably haven't been around long enough to give any real indication. I'm guessing that they're well enough engineered and built to last quite a long time but OTOH the cost of maintenance will get progressively higher as the years tick by. So it may be more a question of economics than actually wearing out and with less of a classic car appeal than the Porsche sports car models as an alternative reason to keep them running.

In answer to your question about 75% of all Porsches made are still in existance.