This is going to be a hard pill to swallow, especially for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) owners, but statistics do not lie. According to CR (Consumer Reports), hybrids have far superior reliability compared to PHEVs. Every year, CR compiles info and data from its members about problems that they have encountered with their vehicles in the past 12 months.
This year, CR accumulated data from over 330,000 vehicles dated from 2000 to 2023 model years with a few additions of early 2024 models. However, because this CR is a US-based report, certain models may not be relevant to the Malaysian market.
The main comparison here is towards traditional ICE (Internal Combustion Engine). Electrified models, particularly hybrids, have emerged as frontrunners, showcasing superior performance compared to traditional ICE vehicles. However, the report also sheds light on the mixed performance of PHEVs, with notable variations in reliability among different models.
The evaluation delves into 20 trouble areas across various vehicle types, providing a nuanced perspective on mainstream models. This thorough evaluation encompasses everything from minor nuisances like squeaky brakes to major concerns such as out-of-warranty engine, transmission, EV battery, and EV charging issues.
Consumer Reports employs a meticulous approach, weighing the severity of each problem to generate a predicted reliability score for each vehicle, ranging from 1 to 100. This score is instrumental in determining the overall reliability rating for every major mainstream model. The reliability rating is then merged with data from track testing, owner satisfaction survey results, and safety data to calculate each vehicle’s Overall Score.
Gentari’s Deputy CEO and Chief Green Mobility Officer, Shah Yang Razalli, has highlighted that Malaysia’s fuel subsidy policy goes against its efforts to encourage the use of electric vehicles (EVs). This conflict is hindering the overall push towards greater EV usage in the country.
As reported by TheEdge Malaysia, Razalli stressed that a key aspect in driving EV adoption is achieving a balance in the total cost of ownership (TCO). In simpler words, the question is: Is it more cost-effective to buy and run an EV over its entire lifetime compared to a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle? This topic was discussed during a session at the Energy Transition Conference held on August 28.
The obstacle to achieving cost parity between EVs and ICE vehicles is the presence of financial incentives. These incentives include direct subsidies for purchasing EVs and additional benefits such as free public charging, parking, or tolls. At the same time, any discouragement of fossil fuel usage is influenced by measures like fuel taxes or carbon taxes.
Industry experts predict challenges for the internal combustion engine (ICE) driven second hand car market due to the growing focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. This could lead to higher costs and taxes for ICE vehicles, raising doubts about the sustainability of the second hand car industry.
The delay in adopting ESG principles is a concern, notably seen in the environmentally harmful reputation of the used car market. This is due to reliance on old, polluting vehicles using fossil fuels.
The Ford Mustang’s V8 engine is a crucial component of its character, and the business has no plans to replace it with batteries and an electric motor anytime soon.
Ford has vowed to continue selling the Mustang with an internal combustion engine and has no intention of discontinuing the model’s drivetrain. Unlike competitors Chevrolet and Dodge, whose current Mustang rivals are being killed off, with the former’s Camaro coupe and the latter’s Challenger coupe and Charger sedan due to cease production in 2024.
Speciality automobiles running on any blend of petrol and ethanol were Brazil’s novel approach to reducing tailpipe emissions for two decades, helping the country boast just a quarter of the road pollution of other nations its size.
While other countries are pushing the EV agenda, Brazil is standing its ground while several of the other leading economies in the world set out specific plans to ultimately stop selling automobiles with combustion engines. The most widely used models in the nation are so-called flexible-fuel cars that can operate entirely on biofuel made from sugar cane, making them generally more environmentally friendly than pure petrol engines.
Netizens are expressing their frustration over the fact that luxury electric car brands like Tesla are exempt from taxes and duties, supposedly ‘making wealthy Malaysians even wealthier’, while fuel-powered, more affordable cars like the Perodua Axia are subject to high-er taxes, inadvertently burdening the less fortunate segments of the Malaysian population.
Questions about the environment are allegedly fairly important with electric cars (EVs). When their batteries reach the end of their useful lives, they will compound the already existing environmental concerns.
The all-new, fully electric Porsche Macan is scheduled to be introduced in the first half of 2024, although it is possible that the ICE-powered version may continue to be produced for a longer period of time than previously anticipated.
According to reports, Porsche stated that, depending on sales volume over the following two years, it will evaluate its decision to discontinue the combustion-engined Macan in 2025 or 2026.
The production version of the Macan was unveiled at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show and 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Early models included the Macan S and Macan Turbo. The recent model that is available in the Malaysian market is the 2022 Porsche Macan facelift. The standard Macan costs RM433,154, the Macan S starts at RM623,593, and the Macan GTS is the most expensive model, starting at RM786,232.
After Germany questioned the EU’s support for the regulations, the bloc’s member states postponed a vote scheduled for next week on the law that will ban the sale of new CO2-emitting vehicles by 2035.
However, Audi, they have planned to totally cease production of ICE cars by the end of 2026 but this might see some delays due to the ongoing discussion.
Jaguar has had a long history of making sportscars – many of which have been famous. And where the F-TYPE is concerned, it has a rich bloodline spanning 75 years that includes some of the most iconic models ever built.
To mark its final model year and also 75 years of Jaguar sportscars, the carmaker is offering special editions in the form of the F-TYPE 75 and F-TYPE R 75. These will be distinguished by unique interior and exterior design elements, carefully curated specifications, and, of course, the supercharged 5-litre Jaguar V8 engine that is synonymous with F-TYPE.
These exclusive models will be a fitting celebration of internal combustion engine performance before Jaguar becomes a pure electric modern luxury brand from 2025.
Over the next 10 years, Honda will allocate approximately 5 trillion yen in the area of electrification and software technologies to further accelerate its electrification, which is approximately 62% of the company’s overall R&D expenses budgeted for the same. This expenditure will enable it to have up to 30 EV models globally by 2030 with production volumes of more than 2 million units annually. This huge investment will help Honda achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities by 2050.
The strong focus on EVs – and presumably, Honda is referring to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) – may suggest that the carmaker will be decreasing development of internal combustion engines (ICE) and hybrid vehicles (HEVs). In fact, last year, it announced the intention to stop producing and selling new ICE vehicles, including hybrids, worldwide by 2040.
However, like what a number of major carmakers are saying, hurried adoption of BEVs is not a practical approach. Due to regional differences such as the level of customer acceptance, affordability, readiness of infrastructure and economic conditions, a singular approach to switching to BEVs globally is not going to work.
Honda will therefore be working on rapid transitioning to BEVs in markets and regions such as the USA, Europe, China and Japan while continuing with a more realistic solution for other areas. In those major markets for electrification, the ratio of BEVs and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) will be increased at a faster rate. In relation to overall unit sales, these zero emission vehicles will account for 40% of volume by 2030, 80% by 2035, and 100% by 2040.
In some markets like Malaysia, Honda also refers to its hybrid technology as e:HEV technology.
And even though North America is one of the regions that is part of the main electrification plan, Honda has still allocated R&D resources to develop new hybrid models for the near-term. This is to increase HEV volume of core models such as the CR-V, Accord and Civic which are produced there. Honda currently sells 4 HEV models in North America. However, Insight production will end in June to start production of the new CR-V Hybrid this year, followed by the Accord Hybrid, which will eventually make up 50% of the sales mix of each model.
2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid
“We need to take into account multiple factors, such as the living environment and the penetration rate of renewable energy, rather than simply switching to electric vehicles,” said Toshihiro Mibe, Honda’s CEO. “We are ending conventional engines but we will still focus on hybrids, and it will be our strength in 2030 or even in 2035.”
Honda, along with Toyota, were the first brands to introduce HEVs and while the Prius was the first into the market, Honda’s first generation of Insight arrived in the USA 7 months before the Toyota HEV. Following the futuristic looking Insight was the Civic Hybrid in 2002 and then the Accord Hybrid.
Honda’s first model with hybrid electric technology was the Insight, which made its debut in Japan in 1999.
The CR-Z hybrid sportscar was sold between 2010 and 2016 but due to diminishing sales of coupes, Honda didn’t follow up with a second generation.
Honda continued to improve its hybrid technology (which it also refers to as e:HEV technology in some markets) as well as try to bring costs down and developed better hybrid powertrains for the next generations of the models. It also came out with a HEV sportscar, the CR-Z, in 2010 but as sales of coupes slowed down, the model line did not continue into a second generation.
So HEVs still have a future, more so now that they have moved from being of interest to early adopters to become more mainstream in the marketplace. While most HEV buyers would be aware that their car is powered by a petrol engine as well as an electric motor, the fact that a HEV needs no recharging (a plug-in hybrid or PHEV does) makes the technology ‘invisible’. It’s like turbochargers; in the 1970s, they were distinct features in high-performance engines but today, their presence is taken for granted in the new generation of downsized engines.
In Malaysia, Honda has been selling hybrid models since 2004 and assembling some models locally since 2012, starting with the Jazz Hybrid.
Honda’s continued attention to HEVs will also be beneficial in other markets where BEV adoption may be slow. HEVs can still help in a small way on the climate change issue as they generate lower carbon dioxide gases which have been identified as a major cause of global warming.
