Hybrids haven't been around long enough for a wealth of data, but based on warranty & test information, we expect batteries to last at least 100-150,000 miles if not longer on some vehicles. They then require a battery replacement which should run somewhere between $1000-2500 depending on how the prices decrease with time.

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Actually, Jason, I think that I read someplace that after tests of 150,000 to 200,000 miles, Toyota has found that the batteries' total capacity is merely less by a few percentage points.

I have heard differing numbers, 2% to 3%, and 10% to 20%. I don't know which is accurate, but in any case, the batteries don't necessarily need to be replaced at any given mileage point. They just have less capacity, and so the ICE would need to turn on sooner to charge them up.

I have not read anywhere that the rate of charge would be expected to change significantly. By this, I mean that the gas engine would still run for the same duration as when the batteries were new. Or maybe because the capacity of the aging battery would be less, the engine could be expected to run for a shorter duration? I don't know, but I think the upshot is that it would just have to turn on more often, thereby using more gas.

At least that's how I understand it is with the Prius.

Interesting news out of VW there is a news report from a german magazine....

September 03, 2004
VW Tests Hybrid vs Diesel; Defers Hybrid

The German auto magazine Auto Bild reports (German) on Volkswagen’s testing of a prototype hybrid Touran (a compact van, or MPV).

VW built a test hybrid [gasoline-electric] Touran and compared it to the same model with a production diesel powerplant. The results: the diesel delivered better fuel economy: 5.0 liters of fuel/100km to the hybrid’s 6.1 liters/100km. The verdict: VW will not yet put hybrids into quantity production—not until they can improve the fuel economy and the cost. When VW hybrids do show up, they will probably do so first in the US.


“[Hybrids are] an interesting niche. No more, no less,” says Volkswagen developer Ekkehard Pott, who sees the future for hybrids “rather in the USA.”