Electricity Can Coexist With Gasoline In the Same Car

There is an oversupply of lithium and nickel on the global market, and global demand for electric vehicles has shifted from battery-powered to hybrid and plug-in hybrid models.

According to investment bank Macquarie Group, global sales of battery electric vehicles grew 11% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, slowing down compared to growth of 35% in 2023 and 78% in 2022. However, sales of plug-in hybrids grew by 44% over the same period, which is comparable to the 45% growth in 2023 and 32% in 2022.

“The 35% share of plug-in hybrids in total sales is the highest since 2017,” said a bank representative. This type of car is steadily moving towards accounting for half of all passenger car sales in the Chinese market. In the first six months of this year, they already reached 41% of total sales, compared to 32% last year.

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The return to rechargeable hybrids mainly reflects the growing popularity in China of hybrid cars with increased range on a single tank, in which the internal combustion engine is used only to recharge the battery, not to power the car.

This allows long distances to be covered using electric power alone. In Europe, on the contrary, the emphasis is more on conventional hybrid vehicles, as evidenced by data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

In the first half of this year, the number of new hybrid cars registered increased by 22.3% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 1.66 million units, while registrations of rechargeable hybrids even fell by 2.5% compared to last year to 392,284 units. Hybrid cars lead the way among all electric motor vehicles sold in the European Union in the first half of the year, followed by pure battery electric vehicles with 712,637 units.

USA

In the USA, despite the general slowdown in the electric car market, hybrids also lead the way: 710,000 units were sold. Pure battery-powered cars are in second place, with 550,000 units sold. At the same time, sales of hybrid cars increased by 34% compared to last year, while sales of battery-powered cars increased by only 1.9%.

The Japanese corporation Toyota Motor is the world leader in the production of hybrid vehicles. In the first half of 2024, Toyota’s sales of such vehicles grew by 19.8% to 1.92 million units, while sales of rechargeable hybrids soared by 35.2% to 72,768 units. Of the total number of hybrids produced, the corporation sold 1.5 million units outside Japan, and its overseas sales grew by 32.7% compared to last year. In June of this year, the company accounted for 51% of all hybrid car sales in the United States.

Thailand, for example, has decided to temporarily reduce the excise tax on hybrids. The reduced rate will be in effect from 2028 to 2032 and will apply to cars with a hybrid powertrain with a capacity of no more than 10 people. To be eligible for the excise tax reduction, automakers must invest an additional $85 million in Thailand between 2024 and 2027.

Prices for electric vehicle batteries have fallen sharply recently amid oversupply in the market for metals used in them, slowing global demand for such vehicles, and rising customs duties on Chinese electric vehicles. 

The cost of battery components, such as lithium, has been falling since 2023, leading to lower prices for batteries and, consequently, for electric vehicles. Typically, the cost of a battery accounts for up to a third of the price of the entire vehicle.