Hybrid Vehicles not Helping Environment

Use of hybrid vehicles in the US is not yet having its intended impact on the environment.  That’s the verdict of a new report, which also describes the financial impact of hybrids on consumers.  The report was produced by UBC (the University of British Columbia) and is titled ‘Green Drivers or Free Riders? An Analysis of Tax Rebates for Hybrid Vehicles.’

According to this report, hybrids have not replaced emission-heavy sports utility vehicles (SUVs), but are substituting for smaller cars whose greenhouse gas emission outputs are comparatively small to begin with.

“If the intention of rebate programs is to replace gas guzzlers with hybrids, they are failing”, UBC’s Amarish Chandra - one of the figures behind the report - explained, in comments made to a US news agency.

“People are choosing hybrids over similarly priced small- and medium-sized conventional cars, which are not far behind hybrids for fuel efficiency and emissions”, he added.

“The reductions in carbon emissions are therefore not great.”

Hybrid Vehicle Sales

In fact, according to the report, more large vehicles have been purchased since government hybrid rebate schemes were ushered in.  And, it adds, there is not clear evidence to support the idea of these rebates having incentivised hybrid vehicle sales, in the main.

Hybrid vehicle rebate schemes are presently up and running within 13 US states – Colorado, Washington and Oregon among them.  The same is true for five provinces in Canada, such as Manitoba and Quebec. 

“Our estimates indicate that two-thirds of people who buy hybrids were going to buy them anyway”, Chandra stated.  “So for the majority, rebates are not changing behaviour - they are subsidising planned purchases.”

Hybrid Rebates

While Ontario’s ceiling for hybrid rebates is currently $10,000, in the US, rebates are capped at $3,400, and start at $900.  Not all hybrid vehicles are eligible though, including models produced by Honda and Toyota. 

Instead of rebates, Chandra proposes that governments could do more for the environment by acquiring carbon offsets, or injecting funds into new, clean energy technologies.