Are gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles more cost-effective than conventionally powered models? The debate has raged for years, and recent declines in gas prices have shifted the playing field.
Vincentric LLC, which measures the overall cost of owning a vehicle, says the answer depends on your choice of hybrid. The range is vast between the most and least cost-efficient of the 31 hybrids from the 2014 model year that the firm analyzed. Over five years,
Just 10 of the 31 hybrids Vincentric evaluated are less expensive to operate than their closest gasoline-only counterparts, it found. And the fuel-savings gap between hybrids and conventional models is shrinking fast. Just two years ago, Vincentric notes, 44% of all hybrids were more cost-effective than their traditional counterparts.
“Hybrids are losing their competitive edge due to the improved fuel economy of gas-powered combustion engines and falling fuel prices,” says David Wurster, president of the Bingham Farms, Mich.-based firm.
When all the costs of ownership are calculated, 2014 hybrids cost $1,450 more to operate over a five-year period, the firm says. The biggest factor is whether fuel savings can offset a hybrid’s price premium. For instance,
Overall, buyers pay an average premium of more than $4,300 per vehicle for a hybrid, which will average about $2,900 in fuel savings. Vincentric’s cost analysis also includes the higher taxes, fees, depreciation, financing, insurance, maintenance and repair costs for hybrids. The firm assumes owners drive 15,000 miles per year. Fuel costs are based on a weighted average of pump prices for the five months preceding the report.
Toyota dominates this year’s list of 10 cost-efficient 2014 hybrids with the afore-mentioned Lexus CT 200h and the ES 300h, as well as two Toyota-branded cars (click on the full list to find out which). Vincentric says it did not include the Toyota Prius—America’s best-selling hybrid—in this year’s report because there is no closely comparable gas-only model in the Toyota lineup.
