A Hybrid car, for those of you not in the know is: A petrol-battery Vehicle that has an engine than runs on regular petrol, and on batteries.

When the battery gets low, the system swithces back over to gasoline like a normal car, and runs whilst charging the battery back up.

Hybrid Vehicles will certainly cut the gas consumption, and are now said to be a “cleaner & greener” alternative.

However, leaving aside the obvious benefits of less petrol consumption, I’ve a couple of quick concerns about Hybrids:

Batteries
The batteries in hybrids are Nickel Metal Hydride. Not yet cheap to produce, to purchase or recycle and the production method and recylcing process are both carbon emission unfriendly (compared to production of a standard lead-acid battery).

Recycling
These Hybrid batteries will not last forever. Currently only Toyota has announced a recycle plant in the US for these batteries. 

Honda  say their hybrid batteries will last for 80,000 miles. But what thereafter?

More Production Required 
What percentage of the worlds drivers are driving vehicles that have travelled more than 80,000 miles? 

I actually don’t know the exact answer, but one thing I know for sure…. in the future, that percentage will get less and less. 

Think about it from a production perspective.  If a vehicles lifetime is shorter, then you need more of them.

Life Expectancy 
There is nothing to suggest that Hybrid Vehicles have a comparative life expectancy of the regular internal combustion engine, or that the manufacturing process is any greener than a conventional petrol or diesel vehicle.

In fact comparitive evidence suggests a hybrid has roughly half the life of the common automobile.

Landrover vehicles are guaranteed for 150,000 miles and the manufacturer says the life expectancy is 300,000 miles plus!

Disposal Cost 
At some stage one must also consider the disposal cost, which of course is more of a problem with a shorter life expectancy.

Ok, so with the Hybrid we cut gas consumption, great for the pocket, and the environment. Less carbon monoxide emissions from vehicle exhausts, but are we just reducing emission from the vehicles, but increasing future carbon emmision by a greater production and recycling requirement?

Are we just pushing the problem around, or is the Hybrid vehicle actually as cleen & green as the manufacturers make out?