The effect batteries have on PHEVs

A lot of persons all over the world are interested in new technologies that can change auto transport in a cleaner and efficient way. The Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles represent the solution that seems the easiest to implement at the moment even if it isn't as revolutionary as we could have imagined. The results of a recent survey revealed that over 80 percent of the population would take in to consideration the acquisition of a PHEV in order to reduce the fuel consumption and help keeping the planet cleaner, but they are reluctant when it comes to the batteries that equip this type of vehicles. The batteries are the main impediment in mass producing hybrid vehicles because of their small capacity. For example, the most performant PHEV when it comes to fuel autonomy has only a limited range of 60 miles without needing to be recharged.

Also, for obtaining higher capacities, battery packs have to get bigger and more heavier, things that influence a vehicle's interior and storing space and especially the dynamic performances it can obtain. On top of this, batteries have the tendency of overheating when constantly used, presenting a high risk of explosion if not properly exploited. Modern Lithium Ion batteries are also quite expensive to produce and developing companies are currently investing huge amounts of money trying to obtain better performances, but it is presumed that, as they are going to be massively used in auto transport, their production cost is going to get a lot smaller. Another important issue current batteries present is the wear out in time. Depending of the usage, in just a couple of years, batteries lose their storage capacity and cannot be fully used anymore. A solution of this big problem would be selling the used ones to local energy companies as they are able to give them further use. The conclusion is that even if the market is currently ready and people are demanding for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, available batteries represent the weak point and need further improvements in order to make this technology feasible and popular.