Car owners are bracing themselves for another round of oil price hikes. This makes fuel consumption a necessary consideration when choosing what car to invest on these days.
Enter HEVs—or hybrid electric vehicles—which some of us may have already heard of since the early 2000s. HEVs are powered by an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors that use energy stored in batteries. Unlike full EVs, HEVs cannot be plugged to an energy source.
The hybrid technology reached the Philippines in the late 2000s thru cars like Toyota Prius (2009) and Honda CR-z (2013). But since HEVs were still pretty pricey back then compared to conventional cars, these didn’t get much traction.
Today, it seems HEVs are gaining wider acceptance in the Philippines. According to June 2022 figures from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI), there are a total of 1,013 electrified vehicles (xEVs) sold in the market. This surpasses the 2021 total volume of 843 and 2020's 378. A total of 962 (or 95%) of the 2022 year-to-date sales are Toyota and Lexus models. Lexus is also owned by Toyota Motor Corporation.
Possibly one of the reasons behind this growth is that there’s a wider range of HEVs in the country today. Toyota has multiple variants across 10 models—Corolla Altis, Corolla Cross, Prius, Camry, and RAV 4, as well as Lexus’ IS, ES, LS, NX and RX.
ANCX’s go-to car guy, Reph Bangsil, recently got to test-drive the Toyota Altis GRS HEV for a few days and he gave us more reasons to consider getting an HEV.
You get better mileage than conventional cars
Reph drove over 200 kilometers around the metro and to Driftwood Action Park in Indang, Cavite with the Altis GRS and he was able to get up to 15 km/L mileage from it. “That’s impressive already because my classic vehicle gets 3 km/L while my diesel Navara gets around 6 km/L,” he tells us. Since it consumes less fuel, it makes for a good everyday car, he adds.
Allana Rufo, Public Relations and Digital Media Specialist at Toyota Motor Philippines, tells us that Corolla Altis HEV has an average fuel consumption of 22.7 km/L, compared to its gas counterpart which consumes 15.4 km/L (tested under controlled environment following internationally accepted Fuel Consumption Test Protocol under UN Regulations No. 101).
HEVs have less carbon emission
One of the ultimate goals of vehicle electrification is achieving carbon neutrality (state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions) in transportation. In a statement, TMC claims that Toyota has sold more than 20 million units of its electrified models around the world, helping reduce CO2 emissions by more than 160 million metric tons. “By driving an HEV, it does feel good that you’re making your own small contribution in lessening air pollution,” says Reph.
No ‘range anxiety’
People have this fear that an EV will not have enough battery to reach its destination. “This is not a concern with HEVs since the gas engine automatically kicks in once the battery charge is depleted,” says Reph. HEVs also have a regenerative brake wherein the battery charges once you hit the brake.
Another plus: There’s a screen on the audio head unit that tells the energy flow of the hybrid system (i.e. if battery is being charged, in use, or the engine is powering the vehicle). The screen also has a battery meter, indicating the amount of battery charge. It doesn’t show though how long it will take until the charge is depleted. “There’s no set time for the battery to be fully charged since the car charges depending on driving behavior/performance,” says Rufo.
While Toyota is working towards full electrification, hybrids is the ideal choice for Filipino motorists, Reph says, because we have not too many charging stations around the country until now.
The motor is so quiet
“There is no sound at all when you turn on the car engine. The only sound you’d hear would be the AC/blower,” Reph tells us. We witnessed this ourselves when we joined him for a quick drive around Makati. So if you want to play music or have conversations inside the car, you won’t hear any overpowering sound from the engine.
HEVs are exempt from number coding
Full electric vehicles are not the only ones exempt from the “mandatory unified vehicular volume reduction program, number-coding scheme, or other similar schemes implemented by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), other similar agencies, and LGUs with due consideration on the impact of such exemption on the volume of vehicles.” The exemption stated in Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) also covers HEVs, says Rufo. “There are also certain tax exemption to encourage more people to switch to HEVs.”
HEVs are more affordable now
The other possible reason why many people are switching to HEVs is the fact that they are more affordable now. The cheapest in Toyota’s line of HEVs is the Corolla Altis 1.6M. The most expensive is the RAV4 at 2.6M. TMP is also offering an eight-year warranty on the battery, offers Rufo.
For more information about Toyota’s hybrid cars, check out this link.