Energy
The True Cost of Hybrids

The True Cost of Hybrids

It’s always been accepted by those adopting electric cars or in favor of lowering fossil fuel emissions that, while not a perfect solution, Hybrid vehicles are at least a step in the right direction.

Turns out that philosophy might not always be in the best interest of Hybrid buyers.

According to its 2018 Canadian Hybrid Analysis, Vincentric (the industry data supplier) shows that although hybrids have lower fossil fuel and maintenance costs, they aren’t always cost effective in the long run, with just 16 of the 47 hybrids evaluated having a lower total cost of ownership than their closest all-gasoline counterparts.

Vincentric President, David Wurster went on to say,  “Canadian buyers who want to own a cost-effective hybrid car can definitely find them, especially if they identify one in which the hybrid price premium is low.”

The average price premium for a hybrid is $7,121 more than the comparable gasoline-only vehicle. But despite fuel savings of $3,051 and maintenance savings of $576 over 5 years, this means that other costs of ownership were still almost $3,500 more than comparable gasoline vehicles.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid Platinum, for example, was identified as the hybrid that would save its owners more than owning a comparable Ford Fusion Platinum, banking an extra $6,640 over five years. That saving  does not apply to other Fusion trim levels, however, with S models seeing a savings of only $14 over five years of ownership and still costing almost $3,500 more than comparable gasoline vehicles.

The Vincentric report also showed that none of the utility vehicles analyzed would save their owners any money where total cost of ownership was concerned.

In compiling its 2018 Canadian Hybrid Analysis, Vincentric used a formula based on fuel costs weighted over the past five months, vehicle ownership of five years with 15,000 km of annual travel. Vehicles were judged on eight cost factors — depreciation, fees & taxes, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, opportunity cost (the money tied up in monthly vehicle payments), and repairs.