Three Reasons Hybrids Are More Mainstream

Owning a hybrid isn’t just for hippies and yuppies anymore. Though when they first emerged on the American market about 15 years ago most of the people who bought them were super environmentally aware or were just buying them since they were trendy, hybrid vehicles have become much more mainstream. In fact, over four and a half million of them were sold in 2012. Here are a few of the reasons hybrids are becoming a more favored option for American drivers.

1. Batteries Are Better Than Ever
One of people’s biggest concerns with buying a hybrid car was the prospect of someday having to replace the hybrid battery. Hybrid car batteries generally have a warranty of about 8 years or 100,000 miles, but in the early years didn’t always even last that long. Hybrid battery replacement was also pretty pricey and could run into the thousands of dollars. These days, however, technology has advanced enough that the batteries are better performing and longer lasting.

2. Hybrid Vehicles Still Save Money
Another reason more and more people are opting to drive hybrids these days is that they do actually save a driver money. Of course, there is the impressive fuel economy, since hybrids use much less gas than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. Additionally, hybrid owners can also usually benefit from tax incentives as well.

3. There Are More Options for Replacement
Since one of the biggest concerns about owning a hybrid is about battery replacement, one thing that quashes that anxiety is that there are far more options for replacement than there used to be. These days you aren’t necessarily forced to go to your dealership for replacement. There are third party providers, and reconditioning and remanufacturing are alternatives to altogether replacing the battery.

Do you still have any anxieties about hybrid vehicles? Feel free to share them with us in the comments section below.