Hybrid vehicles remain competitive in the evolving electric car market

Amid the growing popularity of electric vehicles, hybrids continue to play a significant role in the automotive industry.

Umair Irfan reports for Vox.


In short:

  • Hybrid vehicles are maintaining popularity alongside fully electric vehicles, despite some manufacturers scaling back their production.
  • Issues like high costs, maintenance complexities, and charging infrastructure challenges are slowing the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
  • Hybrids offer a practical middle ground, combining electric and gasoline power, potentially aiding in reducing overall carbon emissions.

Key quote:

“Just because an electric vehicle is cleaner than an internal combustion engine-powered vehicle doesn’t mean that it is better to adopt the electric car. Is the goal of the policy to buy electric cars, or is the goal of the policy to reduce emissions?”

— Ashley Nunes, a researcher at Harvard Law School

Why this matters:

Hybrids are important for health outcomes as they can help in reducing carbon emissions, a major contributor to environmental pollution. This trend is vital in the context of national efforts to mitigate climate change and reflects a complex, evolving automotive market where consumer choices and technological advancements are key.

Be sure to read: The role of electric vehicles in the push for environmental justice.

A Bali stream flowing through a forest

As a Super El Niño looms, Indonesia’s crippling drought deepens

The country’s water crisis threatens drinking water and hydropower and worsens the risk of destructive fires.
A view of the top portion of the earth from space

Inside the passage of America’s biggest climate law

In a new memoir, author Leah Stokes takes readers behind the scenes of U.S. democracy — and shows how people can still have an outsize impact by working together.

A street with the words Bus Lane painted in one lane

California Democrats claw back $450 million for climate projects

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new carbon market rules threatened money for certain climate programs. He struck a deal to continue funding for transit and water projects.
A gas tower flaring orange flames into the sky

Opinion: Why tough methane cuts are crucial for keeping warming ‘well-below’ 2C

Reducing emissions of methane – a gas primarily produced by agriculture, fossil fuels and waste management – is a powerful option for limiting global warming in the near-term.

A brown tick on a green leaf

Alpha-gal syndrome is spreading rapidly. Arkansas may hold clues to what comes next

Cases of the tick-borne allergy alpha-gal syndrome are surging as warmer temperatures, abundant deer and expanding development help lone star ticks spread.

A cliff off the coast of Naples, Italy

How is the Mediterranean changing? 40 years of data reveal climate change impact

Spanish scientists and researchers from Europe and the U.S. compiled data from 46 oceanographic campaigns carried out between 1976 and 2018 to study changes in the Mediterranean and the impact of climate change.

A smoke stack with smoke billowing out into the clouds

New York's plan to charge fossil-fuel producers for climate change damages is struck down in court

A federal judge has struck down New York’s attempt to make fossil fuel-producing industries pay into a $75 billion fund to repair damage wrought by climate change.
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.