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Hybrid automakers have been criticised for placing performance and superfluous features above fuel efficiency as a science advocacy group in the US released its annual Hybrid Scorecard.
The Union of Concerned Scientists said in this its second scorecard that automakers were not delivering on the technology’s promises of dramatic fuel-saving and pollution reduction and that hybrids were being burdened with features that put them out of reach of most average Americans.
Automakers were also criticised for considering performance above the efficiency and environmental benefits of hybrids.
UNNECESSARY ADD-ONS
Thirty-four hybrids were evaluated for their fuel efficiency, environmental improvement, consumer value and their “forced features”, among them heatable seats and extravagant audio systems, which inflate the price of some without improving fuel-efficiency, the UCG said. Such features also pushed cost-conscious potential buyers out of the market.
Don Anair, a senior UCS engineer and the scorecard’s author, said only 13 of the 34 reduced the exhaust emissions of their conventional counterpart by 25%. The worst offender, the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid, cleaned up lesds than 10 percent, a record for the scorecard.
The Prius remained the top non-luxury model in the scorecard’s environmental improvement category, delivering a more than 40% reduction in global warming pollution compared with its closest conventional models. Other non-luxury models scoring well on environmental improvement included the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
In the luxury market, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid and Lexus CT200h (which goes on sale in South Africa in August, 2011) earned top environmental improvement scores from the advocacy group.
The Union of Concerned Scientists said in this its second scorecard that automakers were not delivering on the technology’s promises of dramatic fuel-saving and pollution reduction and that hybrids were being burdened with features that put them out of reach of most average Americans.
Automakers were also criticised for considering performance above the efficiency and environmental benefits of hybrids.
UNNECESSARY ADD-ONS
Thirty-four hybrids were evaluated for their fuel efficiency, environmental improvement, consumer value and their “forced features”, among them heatable seats and extravagant audio systems, which inflate the price of some without improving fuel-efficiency, the UCG said. Such features also pushed cost-conscious potential buyers out of the market.
Don Anair, a senior UCS engineer and the scorecard’s author, said only 13 of the 34 reduced the exhaust emissions of their conventional counterpart by 25%. The worst offender, the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid, cleaned up lesds than 10 percent, a record for the scorecard.
The Prius remained the top non-luxury model in the scorecard’s environmental improvement category, delivering a more than 40% reduction in global warming pollution compared with its closest conventional models. Other non-luxury models scoring well on environmental improvement included the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
In the luxury market, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid and Lexus CT200h (which goes on sale in South Africa in August, 2011) earned top environmental improvement scores from the advocacy group.
