Subject: Re: More BYD sold
In the near term there are only so many batteries. Environmentally, it would be better to have five "priority electric" hybrids with 60 mile electric range on the road rather than four diesel cars and one purely electric car with 300 mile range--a range that almost certainly isn't getting used on a median day.

More or less what Toyota was saying - they can make 5 hybrids or one EV using the same battery materials. The "priority" restriction wouldn't work politically, of course.

I hear there are lots of plug-in hybrids in Europe, and many drivers don't bother to plug them in. Probably because it doesn't make financial sense when electric prices are so high (35p/kWh in UK - yikes). They get them for the tax breaks. I got one as a rental in the UK early this year and had nowhere to plug in so just ran it on petrol. Got good gas mileage, though.