Quote:
Originally Posted by niky
But still... it makes more financial sense to downsize than to keep going for a big car with a hybrid motor. Which, I think, is reflected in the way hybrid sales are starting to lag in growth compared to regular car sales...
The EV market is still growing, but it will eventually find market saturation once the niche is filled. I doubt it will end up anywhere beyond 1% of the total market, however.
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I see hybrids as an intermediate technology. It's certainly not ideal because having 2 power trains in a single vehicle is crazy.
EV sales will go way beyond 1% at some point. Basically every family that has 2 or more vehicles is a good candidate for purchasing at least 1 EV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
How would a hybrid be optimized for highway, would that impair its city driving, and how true is it that when a traction battery pack dies, it is usually just one cell, which can be replaced for a fraction of the price of a new pack, although with proportional results?
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I think the Prius is optimized for highway travel. I get over 50 mpg at 70 mph, and the engine load is at 83%. That said, the same thing should be possible with a regular car with a CVT.
As far as reviving a failing battery pack, I think that very rarely the pack can be restored to good health with a single cell or group. Usually when a cell dies, the others are not too far behind. While you might be able to get things working again by replacing the weak cells, my guess is that further replacement would be necessary in the near future.