disadvantages of hybrid cars on the environment

disadvantages of hybrid cars on the environment The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid plug-in hybrid has reached the end of its charging cord. Subaru confirmed to EVguiden Reports that there are no plans for a Crosstrek Hybrid in its new generation, which made its debut Thursday at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show.

Launched for the 2014 model year as Subaru’s first hybrid, the Crosstrek Hybrid then became a plug-in hybrid as part of a redesign for the 2019 model year. Still available for 2023, and currently in stock at select West Coast dealers, the Crosstrek Hybrid goes 17 miles all-electric and creates a unique space among plug-in hybrids, reflecting Subaru’s non-conformist market proposition.

In plug-in hybrid form, the Crosstrek has always been a very low-volume vehicle, sold almost entirely in California emissions states where ZEV mandates and their credit-based compliance system effectively require a certain ratio of plug-in models.

Which leads to why the Crosstrek Hybrid is living on borrowed time. That compliance role is now filled by the all-electric Subaru Solterra, which joined the lineup for 2023 as the brand’s first mainstream electric car (at least on Subaru’s terms). The Solterra (the name is a combination of the Latin words for ”sun” and ”earth”) is positioned in a crowded segment already populated by the Volkswagen ID.4, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Nissan Ariya disadvantages of hybrid cars on the environment .

Subaru has relied heavily on Toyota to get electrified models into US showrooms. The Solterra is closely related to the Toyota bZ4X; Borrowing components from both the RAV4 Hybrid and the Toyota Prius Prime, the Crosstrek Hybrid was seen as a project with significant input from Toyota.

At the time of the Crosstrek Hybrid’s introduction, Subaru hinted that given the level of effort and investment from both companies to bring the product to market, it could be on its way to other models as well. Given California’s plans since then to have the most meaningful incentives for 50-mile plug-in hybrids, it’s likely those plans have moved to other projects. So another Crosstrek Hybrid in line with the outgoing version just doesn’t make sense disadvantages of hybrid cars on the environment.