Hybrid vehicles are regarded as a bridging technology between conventional combustion engines and fully electric drives. They offer an efficient solution for reducing fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions without having to rely on a comprehensive charging infrastructure. For urban planners, local authorities and landscape architects in particular, the question arises as to what contribution hybrid vehicles can make to sustainable mobility.
Hybrid vehicles combine two different types of drive: a classic combustion engine and an electric motor. There are various hybrid concepts:
- Mild hybrids: These vehicles use a small electric motor to support the combustion engine when accelerating. However, they cannot drive purely electrically.
- Full hybrids: Depending on the driving situation and battery charge level, these can be operated in both purely electric and combustion mode. The interaction between the drives is automatic.
- Plug-in hybrids (PHEV): These vehicles have a larger battery that can be charged externally. They offer a significantly longer purely electric range than full hybrids.
The central control system of a hybrid vehicle optimizes the use of energy. When braking, kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy (recuperation), which reduces fuel consumption.
Hybrid vehicles offer numerous advantages over conventional vehicles:
- Reduced fuel consumption: the combination of combustion engine and electric motor can significantly reduce petrol or diesel consumption.
- Lower CO₂ emissions: Especially in city traffic, where there is often stop-and-go traffic, a hybrid vehicle often drives in electric mode.
- No range problems: Unlike fully electric vehicles, hybrid cars can cover long distances without charging breaks.
- Tax advantages and subsidies: In many countries, there are financial incentives for hybrid vehicles, especially for plug-in models.
Despite the advantages, there are also some disadvantages:
- Higher purchase costs: hybrid vehicles are generally more expensive than comparable models with a pure combustion engine.
- More complex technology: The combination of two drive systems increases maintenance requirements and can make repairs more expensive.
- Limited electric range: Even plug-in hybrids usually only offer ranges of 50 to 100 kilometers in electric mode.
- Battery disposal: The batteries in hybrid vehicles pose an environmental challenge, as their manufacture and disposal are energy-intensive.
Hybrid vehicles can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but only if they are used optimally. Plug-in hybrids in particular only achieve significant savings if they are charged regularly and operated mainly in electric mode. Critics complain that many PHEV users operate their vehicle mainly with the combustion engine, which minimizes the environmental benefit.
A study by the Federal Environment Agency shows that hybrid vehicles with all-electric driving modes can produce up to 50% less CO₂ emissions in city traffic than comparable petrol vehicles. On freeways, however, this advantage diminishes significantly.
The market for hybrid vehicles has developed strongly in recent years. In Germany, more hybrid vehicles were newly registered than diesel cars for the first time in 2023. Demand for plug-in hybrids is increasing, particularly in urban areas, due to low emission zones and rising fuel prices.
In the long term, fully electric vehicles are expected to dominate the market. Nevertheless, hybrid vehicles play an important role as a transitional technology. They are a viable solution, especially in regions with poor charging infrastructure.
For urban planners, local authorities and landscape architects, this means that the transport and charging infrastructure must be adapted to hybrid and electric vehicles. Municipal vehicle fleets could increasingly be converted to plug-in hybrids in order to reduce emissions in urban traffic. At the same time, concepts for a sustainable charging infrastructure need to be developed.
Hybrid vehicles are an important bridging technology on the road to emission-free mobility. They offer better efficiency and lower emissions than conventional combustion engines, without the range problems of pure electric cars. Nevertheless, they are not a long-term solution, but an intermediate step towards the complete electrification of transportation.
For urban planning and municipal mobility concepts, this means that both charging stations and suitable regulations for hybrid vehicles must be created. Only through sustainable integration can hybrid vehicles make their contribution to more climate-friendly mobility.
