Hybrid Cars in 2011

The hybrid car concept has gone from a fringe idea to a mainstream one. So, what does the future hold for hybrid cars in 2011? Let’s pull out the old crystal ball and take a look.

It wasn’t all that long ago that hybrid cars were seen as real oddities. The Toyota Prius may be viewed as a huge hit today, but it wasn’t at first. Few remember it was considered to be really ugly and a poor drive. My, how times have changed. 

2011 is the year of the massive hybrid move by the auto industry. The concept has proved itself from a technology point of view. More importantly, it has proved itself from a sales point of view. Consumers buy hybrids in increasing numbers and this remains true even as we see the financial incentives offered by the federal government expire for the various brands. 

The hybrid offerings in 2011 are going to look much like the SUV craze of years past. As you may recall, once SUVs started to become popular, every manufacturer came out with at least one if not a couple of them. This is exactly what is happening with hybrids now. Companies like Ford and BMW who have been laggards are now going all out to produce models and get them onto the American market. 

There is another aspect to the hybrid explosion that most people don’t recognize. The federal government has passed regulations that require car companies to meet much higher average fuel efficiency levels for their fleet of cars. Hybrids help push those numbers higher, thus the companies are more inclined to offer them. 

Is 2011 the year of the hybrid? Yes, but it will be pressured by another new type of car coming out – the electric vehicle. We’ll have an article on that soon.