Hybrid vehicles such as the Honda Insight or the Toyota Prius have gained considerable market shares within the past few years due the greater fuel economy they possess which leads to fewer emissions being released into the atmosphere.
In fact recent sales reports from various dealerships scattered throughout the U.S. indicate that though hybrid car sales encompass only 3% of new car sales within the U.S. the number is expected to rapidly increase as the cost of production goes down and more models are offered to the general public (Brown, 2006). Despite this, it must be questioned whether hybrid motor vehicles can truly be considered worth it in the long run due to the technology still being in its infancy.
There are issues regarding the sustainability of hybrid car production due to the fact that the rare Earth metals that go into the construction of the magnetic engine system, such as dysprosium and neodymium, are quickly running out with their main supplier, China, using many of these rare metals for the construction of electronics rather than hybrid car engines (Hu, 2011).
It must also be noted that the main selling point of hybrid cars lies with its association with the “Green Movement” due to its non-polluting nature yet as of late new innovations in the realm of biofuels has helped to increase not only the yield of biocrude from plants such as Jatropha but also its overall quality (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008).
Due to the clean burning nature of biofuels and the fact that it takes little processing to be utilized in most vehicles currently on roads today this calls into question the ability of the hybrid car business model to actually be viable in the future especially when taking into consideration the fact that patronizing biofuels is a far more effective and efficient means for environmentally conscious individuals to “Go Green” (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008).
Lastly, there is also a matter of supposed cost savings on gas derived from the cost of a hybrid vehicle.
First and foremost what must be understood is that hybrid vehicles on average cost more than their primarily gasoline based counterparts, while it may be true that the hybrid car industry focuses on the fact that people will be able to make up on the difference in cost eventually the fact remains that based on the following graph which examines the cost of hybrid vehicles versus gasoline powered cars and the potential savings accrued over a set number of years it can clearly be seen that for Cars such as the Prius it would take up to 13 years to make the cost difference in terms of gas savings (Frugal Trader, 2008).
(Frugal Trader, 2008)
While it may be true that there are other vehicles such as the Honda Civic Hybrid which just takes 6 years to make up the cost difference the fact still remains that it would take a considerable amount of time to make up the difference in costs for a product that promotes itself as being a “cheaper” alternative to the increasing prices of gas (Frugal Trader, 2008). Based on these facts it must be quested whether hybrid cars are truly worth the cost and the hype attached to them.
As such this paper will explore aspects related to the manufacturing sustainability of hybrid vehicles in light of scarce rare metal supplies, the growing biofuel market which threatens to shut out the hybrid car industry all together and will also explore the supposed savings in gas gained from utilizing a hybrid vehicle which is one of the primary selling points of this particular industry.
From this paper’s point of view, hybrid vehicles don’t seem to be cost effective or practical at all due to new technological developments, scare resources and a faulty selling point.
Hybrid Cars and Rare Earth Metals
One of the current arguments against the use of hybrid cars are concerns related to the overall sustainability of the parts needed in their creation. What must be understood is that rare Earth metals such as dysprosium and neodymium are essential towards the creation of the electric motors and battery systems that are present in all hybrid cars today.
Unfortunately, based on studies such as those by Hu (2011 ) it can be seen in that due to the fact that nearly all rare Earth metals originate from China and that a large percentage of the supply mined goes into consumer electronic goods produced within the country the sustainability of the supply has been called into question (Hu, 2011).
In fact there have been numerous problems over the past several years of China supposedly limiting the amount of rare Earth metals exported in order to promote the manufacture of electronic goods that require such metals within China alone (Hu, 2011). On the other hand China has also been stating that the supply of rare Earth metals has actually been consistently depleting over the years with newer sources getting increasingly harder to find.
Whether China is merely hoarding metals or is running out of metals to mine is besides the point, the fact is that due to such actions the global supply of rare Earth metals which are essential in the creation of hybrid cars is temperamental at best and scarce at worse and as such this drastically affects the ability of manufacturers to meet demand or even provide replacement parts that require rare Earth metals.
On the other hand other cars types aren’t as affected by the rare Earth mineral shortage and as such prove themselves to be a more stable supply of cars and parts for consumers. Taking this into consideration, the overall sustainability of the hybrid car industry is seriously in question and as such makes it an impractical choice for consumers should the supply of rare Earth minerals run out and the parts that require such resources require replacement.
Hybrid cars and the Biofuel Industry
As of late the biofuel industry has gained considerable ground in terms of advancements in the creation, production and supply of biofuel to international consumers. In fact based on the article of Groom, Gray & Townsend (2008) it can be seen that companies such as Shell, ExxonMobile, Petron, and British Petroleum actually use biofuel in their current fuel blends in order to make them burn that much cleaner (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008).
In fact countries such as Japan, France, India and certain parts of the U.S. have increasingly started experimenting with using greater percentages of biofuel within their fuel blends with the goal of switching almost entirely to biofuel within the next decade.
The reason for this is related to the fact that most processed biofuels today are almost fully compatible with modern day engines and as such it doesn’t take much to utilize pure biofuel in a Honda Civic, Ford Mustang, Toyota Corolla etc (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008). It must also be noted that due to their inherent chemical makeup biofuels are inherently clean burning and produce nothing more than oxygen.
This presents itself as a definite problem for the hybrid car industry since the main selling point of their vehicle is that it helps to preserve the environment. Yet, as seen in the case of biofuels, utilizing hybrid vehicles doesn’t seem worth it at all since any individual could just use an ordinary gas guzzling car and utilize biofuels instead of normal gasoline in order to preserve the environment.
The main reason why biofuels haven’t been adopted on a global scale as of late is due to the inherent limitations of current methods of supply and production (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008). There are just too few farms and biofuel processing centers to meet the severity of global demand at the present.
On the other hand, as biofuel continues to gain popularity and agricultural centers that specialize in growing plants for biofuel continue to expand into different countries it is very likely that biofuels will become the fuel of choice in the future leaving hybrid vehicles in the dust. It is based on this that due to advancements in the creation, production and supply of biofuels the use of hybrid vehicles, from this paper’s point of view, seems to be nothing more than a passing phase.
Hybrid cars and their Selling Points
Hybrid cars have two selling points which they use in order to appeal to consumers, the first is that hybrid models have a lower carbon footprint as compared to other cars and as such help to promote environmental conservation while the other selling point is the supposed future cost benefits accrued through fuel savings. While it may be true that the hybrid cars do indeed have a far lower carbon footprint as compared to gasoline powered cars this doesn’t mean that the accrued savings from gas costs come immediately.
(Frugal Trader, 2008)
As it can be seen in the provided graph hybrid cars cost more than regular cars and the savings in gas take up to several years to accumulate before the difference in costs is actually reached (Welch, 2007). In the case of the Prius this can take up to 13 years when compared to other vehicles while the Honda Civic Hybrid takes up to 6 years to make up the difference (Frugal trader, 2008).
Within that span of time the value of the hybrid car goes down as well as additional costs related to car maintenance are included to the price of owning a motor vehicle. While some models such as the Honda Civic hybrid do present themselves as potentially viable options cars such as Prius do not since it is only after the 13 year period after the cost difference is met that savings are truly gained.
It must also be noted that some consumers like to sell their cars after a certain period of time and as such selling a hybrid car that would take up to 13 years for the difference in prices to be paid off doesn’t seem like such a viable investment due to the fact that the purchaser winds up losing a substantial amount of money on a selling point that doesn’t seem to fit with the cost of the vehicle itself (Wlech, 2007).
Another way of looking at this particular situation is to see what would happen should biofuels start entering the market and rare Earth minerals are completely mined out.
Since current estimates place the development of sustainable mass production of biofuels to roughly 10 years in the future with the same amount of time allocated for the availability of rare Earth minerals this presents itself as a situation where owning a hybrid vehicle would turn out to be bad investment.
As such the original two selling points for hybrid cars should not be taken at face value rather consumers should evaluate the current developments in the market today to determine whether hybrid cars are worth the considerably higher expense compared to a regular car.
Argument and Counter Argument for the Support of Hybrid Vehicles
One of the arguments in support of hybrid vehicles is that while there are numerous technologies which could replace hybrid cars in the future such technologies have yet to reach commercial applicability as compared to hybrid cars which can be used here and now.
The problem with this particular argument lies in the fact that it assumes these new changes and technologies are sufficiently far away in the future however as seen in the various facts presented in this paper these changes are actually in the very near future and as such hybrid cars continue to look like a bad investment when taking this into consideration.
Conclusion
Based on the points explained in this paper it can be stated that hybrid vehicles don’t seem to be cost effective or practical at all due to new technological developments, scare resources and a faulty selling point. This is supported by the data explaining problems with the current supply of rare Earth minerals, the development of the biofuel industry and the fact that the selling point of hybrid vehicles is rather moot.
As such it is advisable that consumers hold off purchasing hybrid cars in the present due to the changes that will occur in the immediate future.
Reference List
Brown, S. F. (2006). Where Is the Hybrid Car Heading?. Fortune, 153(10), 29.
Frugal Trader. (2008). Hybrid vs. gasoline vehicle comparison – are hybrid vehicles worth it?. Web.
Groom, M. J., Gray, E. M., & Townsend, P. A. (2008). Biofuels and Biodiversity: Principles for Creating Better Policies for Biofuel Production. Conservation Biology, 22(3), 602-609.
Hu, Y. (2011). Rare Security. Beijing Review, 54(31), 32-33.
Welch, D. (2007). Why Hybrids Are Such a Hard Sell. Businessweek Online, 13.