Industry News
Hybrids consume more energy in lifetime than full-size gasoline SUVs – US study
3rd April 2006
As Americans become increasingly interested in fuel economy and global warming, they are beginning to make choices about the vehicles they drive based on fuel economy and to a lesser degree emissions. But many of those choices aren't actually the best in terms of vehicle lifetime energy usage and the cost to society over the full lifetime of a car or truck, according to a study by CNW Marketing Research Inc, which concludes that the lifetime energy consumption of a hybrid vehicle exceeds that of a comparable non-hybrid vehicle.
The firm spent two years collecting data on the energy necessary to plan, build, sell, drive and dispose of a vehicle from initial concept to scrappage. This includes such minutia as plant to dealer fuel costs, employee driving distances, electricity usage per pound of material used in each vehicle and other variables.To put the data into understandable terms for consumers, it was translated into a "dollars per lifetime mile" figure. That is, the energy cost per mile driven.
The most energy expensive vehicle sold in the US in 2005 was found to be DaimlerChrysler’s Maybach at $11.58 per mile; the least expensive, Toyota’s Scion brand xB model, at $0.48 cents per mile.
The study concludes that driving a hybrid vehicle costs more in terms of overall energy consumed than comparable non-hybrid vehicles.
For example, the Honda Accord Hybrid has an Energy Cost per Mile of $3.29 while the conventional Honda Accord is $2.18. Put simply, over the "Dust to Dust" lifetime of the Accord Hybrid, it will require about 50 percent more energy than the non-hybrid version, according to CNW.
One of the reasons hybrids cost more than non-hybrids is the manufacture, replacement and disposal of such items as batteries, electric motors (in addition to the conventional engine), lighter weight materials and complexity of the power package.
And while many consumers and environmentalists have targeted SUVs because of their lower fuel economy and/or perceived inefficiency as a means of transportation, the energy cost per mile shows at least some of that criticism is misplaced.
For example, while the industry average of all vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2005 was $2.28 cents per mile, the Hummer H3 (among most SUVs) was only $1.949 cents per mile. That figure is also lower than all currently offered hybrids and Honda Civic at $2.42 per mile.
"If a consumer is concerned about fuel economy because of family budgets or depleting oil supplies, it is perfectly logical to consider buying high- fuel-economy vehicles," says Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research, Inc. "But if the concern is the broader issues such as environmental impact of energy usage, some high-mileage vehicles actually cost society more than conventional or even larger models over their lifetime.
"We believe this kind of data is important in a consumer's selection of transportation," says Spinella. "Basing purchase decisions solely on fuel economy or vehicle size does not get to the heart of the energy usage issue."
The goal of overall worldwide energy conservation and the cost to society in general -- not just the auto buyer - can often be better addressed by being aware of a car or truck's "dust to dust" energy requirements, he said.
"We hope to see a dialog begin that puts educated and aware consumers into energy policy decisions," Spinella said. "We undertook this research to see if perceptions (about energy efficiency) were true in the real world."
For more information, contact Art Spinella of CNW Marketing Research, Inc., +1-541-347-4718 or Mailroom@cnwmr.com
(www.cnwmr.com/)
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