Hybrids boom as EV sales slow, but what exactly is a hybrid?

In 1899, electric vehicles outsold all other types of vehicles. They did it again in 1900.

Yes, you read that right.

A lot has changed in the automotive industry since then, but as federal pressure mounts and environmental alarms grow louder, electric vehicles are gaining popularity. But American car consumers are still hesitant to commit to the switch to EVs.

Data from Cox Automotive's 2024 Path to EV Adoption Study suggests that it may take until the end of the decade for skeptical car buyers to consider buying an electric vehicle. Sales have slowed in the last year for EVs, but the middle ground — hybrid vehicles with both an electric battery and an internal combustion engine — are booming in popularity. Automakers with aggressive EV plans, including General Motors and Ford, have touted upcoming hybrids as EV demand falls short of projections.

And as consumers bridge from gasoline to electricity, some may not even know they're crossing over.

What the heck is a hybrid?

Matt Anderson, curator of transportation at The Henry Ford Museum, said electric vehicles may be surging in popularity, but they're nothing new.

"The early (electric vehicles), they were sold with the same advantages they are sold with today: They were easier to drive, comparatively low maintenance and they were cleaner," Anderson said. "Of course, not environmentally cleaner, they just wouldn't be spewing oil and gas all over you as you drove them down the street."

And while the early EVs of more than a century ago saw some popularity, some manufacturers rolled out hybrids — cars with an electric motor and an internal combustion engine under the same hood — as early as the 19th century.

Two of the earliest hybrids, a 1915 Owen Magnetic and a 1916 Woods Dual Power, are at The Henry Ford in Dearborn. They weren't nearly as popular as modern hybrids, but their function was largely the same.

Hybrid vehicles aren't a monolith, though. There are three distinct types. John Voelcker, a contributing editor at Car and Driver Magazine, said many people might be driving hybrids without even realizing it.

The mild hybrid

Whenever you cross the street and hear a car's engine switch off temporarily to conserve fuel and reduce emissions while it idles, that's a mild hybrid with a small battery and motor. The small electric setup doesn't do enough to propel the engine much, but can lead to some savings on gas and energy regeneration.

Most new cars that roll off production lines nowadays are mild hybrids. The feature is attractive to buyers for the fuel it conserves, whether or not they know they are buying what is technically a hybrid vehicle.

"People don't necessarily go out and say, 'I'm going to buy a hybrid today,' " Voelcker said. "But they do."

Price points on mild hybrids vary, since the feature is equipped in new vehicles of all kinds.

The full hybrid

"When Americans think of hybrids they think of strong hybrids," Voelcker said, referencing the prototypical hybrid vehicle: a classic internal combustion engine combined with a larger battery-powered motor that can travel some distance on electricity alone. The battery charges through regenerative energy gained from braking and the internal combustion engine, too.

The strong, or full hybrid, Voelcker explained, can sometimes get to and from a few errands on electricity alone, or at least a mix of fuel and electricity. If it can't, it can seamlessly switch over to the gasoline engine and run like any other car with better gas mileage from the assistance of the electric engine. Many popular cars released in the last few years fall under the full hybrid category.

For example, the bestselling hybrid of all time, the Toyota Prius, has been a full hybrid for more than 20 years. Honda's CRV hybrid has been well-received, too, along with Toyota's Corolla hybrid and Ford's Maverick hybrid.

It's simple, effective and requires no change in behavior from the consumer: fill up on gas when you need it, and run your errands on the electric motor.

While a push is being made to produce affordable full hybrids, these gas-electric fuel savers generally run a few thousand dollars more expensive than traditional gas-powered cars.

The plug-in hybrid

The name gives it away: Plug-in hybrids feature a stronger motor and battery that can cover long distances and do high speeds on electricity alone. To do this, the electric components are so much stronger that they are charged using a plug, instead of gathering energy from the brakes and engine.

The plug-in hybrid is the same principle as a full hybrid with a stronger motor, Voelcker said, though many consumers might not understand that, calling the vehicles "chronically misunderstood."

Whether consumers understand them or not, carmakers are increasing the number of plug-in hybrids they offer. Chrysler has rolled out its new plug-in hybrid Pacifica. Ford has launched a plug-in version of the Escape, and Jeep has hybridized the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee.

Those who adopt the plug-ins will see savings in fuel efficiency, but will pay more up front to drive the car off the lot — about 15% more than gasoline cars, according to Consumer Reports.

But the benefits of plug-ins come at a cost that consumers might not be ready to pay, Voelcker said, and it has little to do with money.

Plug-in hybrids offer consumers the benefits of an electric vehicle by way of 20 to 50 pure electric miles at the cost of a slight change in behavior: plugging the car in.

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Who is buying hybrids?

Voelcker said the plug-in feature might confuse consumers who see plugging a car in as a step too far from normalcy, and they might not be willing to bite, instead opting for the more familiar full or mild hybrids.

Stephanie Valdez Streaty, research and development director for Cox Automotive, studies automotive trends. She said that from the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, mild and full hybrids grew their market share by 152%. Plug-in hybrids did well too, growing by 52%, but not nearly as well as the others.

According to the data from Cox Automotive, Toyota dominates 50% of the hybrid market, largely due to the ever-popular Prius and its newly expanded hybrid lineup. For plug-in hybrids, Jeep performs well with 39% of the plug-in market, followed by Toyota at 13% and Chrysler at 11%.

While hybrids and full EVs become more popular, Valdez Streaty said their future relies on a well-informed consumer base that knows what they're buying. "It all comes down to education," Streaty said.

And it's not just education about what cars people might buy — they might need to be educated on the cars they're driving.

"They are just like regular cars," Voelcker said. "You might not know you're driving a hybrid."

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Reporter Liam Rappleye can be reached at Lrappleye@freepress.com