What Is the Environmental Impact of Hybrid Cars?

Are hybrid cars really better for the environment? While hybrid cars still have combustion engines that run on petrol or diesel, they’re actually more fuel-efficient than conventional cars. Since they also have electric motors that assist the engine, these cars consume less fuel and consequently, release fewer harmful gases into the atmosphere. Let’s examine some of the other positive environmental impacts of hybrid vehicles. 

Improved Air Quality in Urban Areas 🏙️

One of the top benefits of hybrid cars is their contribution to improving air quality, especially in major cities. Hybrid car owners can drive their vehicles using electricity alone, especially at short distances and at slower speeds.

These cars are ideal for city driving and since they don’t produce as much exhaust emissions as traditional diesel or petrol cars, hybrids reduce overall pollution significantly.

With more car buyers choosing green vehicles, our cities will have cleaner streets that are better for cyclists, pedestrians, and urban residents. In just one year, a single green car can save about 1.5 million grams of carbon dioxide. It’s the same amount of pollution produced by four return flights to Barcelona from London. Imagine if we only have eco-friendly cars! 🍃

Emissions During Car Production 🚗

Hybrid cars aren’t completely green, this is because the production of the cars still requires a lot of energy. However, they're still among the most environmentally friendly option.

Compared to conventional cars, hybrid car production create more emissions because of the lithium-ion batteries necessary to make them run. About a third of the lifetime carbon dioxide emissions from hybrids actually come from the energy utilised in making the vehicle itself. Despite this, there is still an environmental importance of hybrid and electric vehicles.

Recycling Electric Vehicle Batteries ♻️

There is a growing market focused on reusing and recycling the batteries of hybrid and electric vehicles. There are many studies being conducted to look for better ways to recycle old batteries and even reuse them using new technologies.

The hope is that in the future, these batteries can be reused in homes to store energy, reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing electric vehicle batteries 🏡

Why Buy a Hybrid Car?

• Save Money on Fuel: your car will be needing less fuel, reducing the amount of money you spend on refilling your tank ✅
  
  
• Fewer Emissions: When your car produces fewer exhaust emissions, it’s not only good for the environment but for your wallet as well. The lower the emissions, the lower the road tax you need to pay ✅
  
  

• Instant torque and no Idling: You can get the maximum torque almost instantly. When it comes to performance, hybrid, and electric cars can certainly match petrol or diesel cars (and no burning fuel when you're stuck in traffic!) ✅

• Higher Resale Value: Hybrids and electric cars depreciate much slower than typical petrol or diesel vehicles. There’s a huge demand for hybrids in the used car market so you won’t have to wait a long time to find a buyer for your car ✅

Takeaway 🍔

Hybrid cars are not yet completely green because they still use some petrol or diesel, and manufacturing them still uses up energy and produces emissions. However, during the whole lifetime of the vehicle, it will contribute less pollution overall than conventional vehicles. So it’s still an eco-friendly choice for car buyers 🌱

If you need some inspiration and you're looking for a small hybrid, check out our picks of the top 5 best small hybrid cars. You can calculate your budget on our Carmoola car finance calculator to get an idea of what you can afford.