Cost savings may not offset higher price for hybrids
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Gas-electric hybrid vehicles are better for the planet than the pocketbook, a new study finds.
The hybrid Accord is one of the most popular gas-electric vehicles.
The premium automakers charge for the advanced technology isn't completely offset by gas savings and federal tax credits over the five years that owners typically keep all vehicles, the analysis by Edmunds.com for USA TODAY says.
The study, the latest on break-even points of hybrid cars, shows that in most cases, an owner would have to drive a hybrid tens of thousands of extra miles a year or gasoline would have to hit stratospheric levels to reach a break-even point with a comparable gas-powered model.
The only car in the comparison that roughly equates in costs over five years is the hybrid Toyota Prius, vs. the conventional Camry. The owner would need to drive just 15,000 miles a year or gas would need to be $2.28 a gallon, the peg Edmunds.com is using for the first year in the study. But Camry is bigger.
When compared with the smaller, gas-thrifty conventional Corolla, the Prius wouldn't equal the five-year costs unless it were driven 66,500 miles a year or gas reached $10.10 a gallon.
The study shows, "If people go in with the idea they are saving money, they are mistaken," says Jesse Toprak, pricing director for Edmunds.com, an auto research site.
Edmunds.com compared costs of ownership, including purchase price, taxes, financing, insurance and maintenance over five years. Depreciation costs are excluded because it's hard to predict resale values of the new hybrids. The study also assumes two-thirds highway and one-third city driving.
While gas is figured at $2.28 the first year, which is what Edmunds.com says it found was the average price across the country in April, it rises 3% a year.
Edmunds.com's assumptions in the study paint a "worst-case scenario," says Honda spokesman Andy Boyd. A less-aggressive approach would require hybrid Accord be driven only 17,000 miles a year before it becomes thriftier than the standard Accord.
Toyota's Sam Bhutto says, "Prius is an excellent value."
The Ford Escape hybrid not only gets great gas mileage, but has lower maintenance requirements — fewer oil changes and brake-pad replacements, for example — meaning fewer trips to the dealer, says Bryan Olson, hybrid Escape marketing manager. "I tell people to think of the value of your time."
The analysis doesn't take into account that low-polluting hybrids are allowed in carpool lanes in some locales or that their prices could fall over time. "People buy hybrids for different reasons," says Ron Cogan of Green Car Journal.
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