When will plug in hybrids hit the market and who will be the first to offer them?

Question

When will plug in hybrids hit the market and who will be the first to offer them?

Answer 1

If its "plug in" its not going to be a hybrid but rather a total electric car.

Answer 2

The first company on schedule to deliver a plug-in hybrid is Aptera.  First they're making a fully electric version (typ-1e), then a plug-in hybrid version (typ-1h).

Available in October 2008, the Aptera typ-1e will cost under $30,000 with a top speed of 95 mph and range of 120 miles per charge.

Soon thereafter Aptera will introduce the typ-1h, a plug-in hybrid version of the typ-1e with a 40-60 mile range on purely electrical energy, and a range of over 600 miles total when in electric/gas hybrid mode, for around $30,000.  On a 120 mile trip, the typ-1h will get 300 miles per gallon.  The shorter the trip, the higher the efficiency.

http://www.aptera.com/details.php

GM is on schedule to deliver the Chevy Volt at the end of 2010.

http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/

Toyota is working on a plug-in version of the Prius, but they're a bit behind Chevy on lithium ion battery technology.  I would guess they'll hit production around 2012.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071110/tc_n...

Ford is also working on some plug-in hybrids which will be developed in 5-10 years.

http://technology.newscientist.com/artic...

Answer 3

The development of the "plug-in" car has pretty much died out. The development of the hybrid has made the plug-in car concept impractical.

Plug-in cars run solely on batteries for power. The amount of stored energy needed to propel a car to highway speeds warrants too many batteries of too much weight to allow any kind of acceleration or, for that matter, driving range. Add to that the problem of overnight recharging, and the plug-in car has pretty much gone the way of the 5 cent candy bar.