You plug your electric vehicle into your home charger and hit the sack. At night the power line falls due to strong winds. Your charger turns black. Then, a report of a fire followed by an evacuation order. Your battery is only 25% charged. It's your only car.
Some California car buyers are expressing fears amid wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles County and forced people to evacuate their homes at a moment's notice.
Matthew Butterick, a Los Angeles attorney who lives near Griffith Park, says a gasoline car “can go out on any road in any direction and get fuel when it needs it. “There will be massive lines and delays at EV stations on exit routes, fewer gas stations. And grid power may be unavailable. Power companies turn off power to avoid sparking fires and avoiding legal liability. This is probably the future of all mountain neighborhoods.
His sentiments were echoed by Val Cipollone, who lives in the wooded hills above Berkeley. He owns a Nissan Leaf, an all-electric vehicle with an approximate 220-mile range, which he plans to sell.
“Who knows how far you have to drive” after a disaster, he said. “I thought I would only drive to my place of work. But, who knows, I might have to go further.
To replace his EV, he said he would buy a hybrid car or plug-in hybrid. However, he would not consider a traditional petrol car. “It's a good conscience thing,” he said, citing the environment. “I don't feel comfortable buying one.”
Fires aside, plenty of car buyers sympathize with Cibolone's concerns. As U.S. sales of traditional fossil-fueled cars and light trucks have fallen (down from 17 million in 2015 to 12.9 million last year), EVs and hybrids have taken off, but in the past two years, as EV growth has slowed, hybrids have been on a tear.
According to automobile data firm Edmonds, hybrid sales are expected to grow 63% in 2023 and 29% in 2024 to 1.8 million. During the same years, EVs grew 34% and 13% to 1.2 million. As recently as 2022, US EV sales grew by 45%.
While EVs may return to poor growth as vehicle prices fall and public charging networks are built, the industry now appears to have exhausted the early-adopter market and needs to attract mainstream buyers, Edmonds analyst Jessica Caldwell said.
EVs “require a different relationship with your vehicle than people have had before. They require a lot more planning,” Caldwell said. This includes setting up a home charger, which sometimes requires a power upgrade; Calculating routes for long distance travel to find where the charge is; and finding public chargers that work when charging stations are congested or when chargers are out of service.
The multibillion-dollar federal program has been in the works for years to install public chargers every 50 miles along interstate highways. If California's program to subsidize chargers in multifamily residences is launched, if those chargers are proven to be reliable — A big if – EVs will attract more buyers.
But for now, Caldwell said, “a lot of people aren't ready to make a lifestyle change. They want to go green, but they're not ready to go all-electric.
Veloz, a nonprofit group pushing the adoption of EVs, said in a statement that disasters “put a strain on all infrastructure” and that zero-emission vehicles are important to mitigating the impacts of climate change.
“I think there's some value in having a hybrid when you only have one car,” Veloz director of communications Margaret More said in an interview. “However, they won't get the full benefits of an electric vehicle, and there will still be long lines at the gas pump in an emergency.”
However, most major car companies are hedging their bets on all-electricity. Ford has scaled back its EV rollouts and introduced hybrid vehicles. (Already, hybrids account for more than 20% of Ford F-150 pickup sales.) Hyundai, whose Ioniq 5 and other mid-priced electric cars are selling well, recently introduced the Hyundai Way program. Powertrains emphasize hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
Hybrids are “a big part of our strategy,” said Randy Parker, the newly named president of Hyundai and Genesis Motors' North American operations. Hyundai sees hybrid sales rise 46% in 2024, while EVs rise 28%, he said. “We try our best to meet customers where they are,” Parker said. The company isn't abandoning EVs, he said, adding that “as consumers become more comfortable with the infrastructure, there will be a return to rapid growth.”
The battery in a traditional hybrid car works with the gasoline engine to improve mileage. The battery in a plug-in hybrid can travel a short distance on battery power alone.
Consumers will have more choices in hybrid cars this year, said Cars.com analyst David Green. A wave of new hybrid models come online in 2025, traditional hybrids and plug-ins. (Both types marry a small car battery with an internal combustion engine, resulting in lower emissions and better gasoline mileage. A traditional hybrid doesn't need to plug in; it uses the gasoline engine to recharge. But it can't run. A plug-in hybrid uses a larger battery. Has a range – typically 30 to 50 miles – and runs overnight with a regular voltage 110 volt home outlet, battery Until it runs out and the combustion engine takes over, many buyers can only run on battery for the distance traveled.
Hybrid development is largely driven by Toyota, and not just the Prius line — the OG of hybrid cars — but also the Camry, Highlander, RAV4, and other popular models. (Actually, the Camry is only available with a hybrid powertrain.)
What impact the Los Angeles fires may have on powertrain choices has yet to be determined. “I don't think so [the fires] That will have a mass effect on EV sales, Caldwell said. However, some will appeal to the “you fill up your gas tank, you're out of there, and you don't have to worry about filling up for another 300 miles” concept.
Count Butterick among them.
“I was filling up my car with gas,” he told The Times as the sunset caught fire in the Hollywood Hills last week. “I don't want to leave in an EV.”
