America’s automakers have staked their futures on the notion that electric vehicles will dominate sales in the coming years, spurred by buyers determined to reduce carbon emissions and save on fuel.
But so far, while EV sales are growing, their pace is falling well short of the industry’s ambitious timetable for transitioning away from combustion engines. Instead, buyers are increasingly embracing a quarter-century-old technology whose popularity has been surging: The gas-electric hybrid, which alternates from gas to battery power to maximize efficiency.
So far in 2023, Americans have bought a record 1 million-plus hybrids — up 76% from the same period last year, according to Edmunds.com. As recently as last year, purchases had fallen below 2021’s total. This year’s figures don’t even include sales of 148,000 plug-in hybrids, which drive a short distance on battery power before a gas-electric system kicks in.
That car is nearly ten years old though, that’s the maximum expected lifespan of most vehicles before too many parts are failing to make it worth it. That’s no different for ice compared to EV, 10 years/200k miles is about the end of the road for almost all vehicles, the ones that live past that are rare and normally do it due to disuse but plenty of care
US average age of cars is 12.5. Plenty of cars are driven well past 10 years.