No. of Recommendations: 9
Got good gas mileage, though.
What seem to not gain enough attention is that increasing miles per gallon is a fast way to reduce emissions - just burn less gasoline. And hybrids can do that using far less lithium - as Jim points out - and without range and recharging stations concerns. So can high mileage ICC's for that matter, just less efficiently.
That's what Toyota is seeing. Just common sense if combatting climate change is the objective.
But hybrids don't offer the thrill of fast acceleration, the prestige, and the "feel good" of owning a pure EV. That's what seems to have driven the first wave of IV's. Not what will impact climate change the fastest and most efficiently. That segment of human nature that Musk has ridden to riches.
Maybe that is starting to sink in as the cost, complexity, and time required to electrify the highway systems is becoming more apparent. I hope that happens to politicians as well as the public.