Why you should consider hybrid vehicles (Opinion)
By: Dylan Naidoo
Cars, in their simplest form, have always been a mode of transportation. There are cheap cars, big cars, fast cars or cars that just run on electricity. The point being, people buy specific cars to meet specific demands, and a growing demand in South Africa is fuel efficient cars. According to a report by NAAMSA (National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa), NEV (New Energy Vehicles) sales have grown significantly over the years. During the first eight months of 2026, NEV sales have increased to 18,945 units sold, compared to 16,703 NEV vehicles sold in the entirety last year. The statistics are clear: The demand for NEV vehicles is growing, largely due to factors such as increasing fuel costs. But do hybrids really save you on fuel costs?
What is a Hybrid?
Understanding how hybrids save on petrol costs requires an understanding of what a hybrid is, as well as the different types. Limited websites give clear explanations, but strangely enough Seat (You know, that Spanish brand that sold the Ibiza and Leon back in the day) gave a rather simple definition for the type of hybrids there are:
mHEV (Mild Hybrids): Mild Hybrids pair a combustion engine with a small electric motor that assists in power, boosting fuel efficiency and assisting in acceleration. As such, these vehicles usually do not have an electric only mode, as the motor is small and is charged by the combustion engine. An example of a car with this engine is the Suzuki Across.
HEV (Traditional Hybrid): As the name suggests, these vehicles combine both a petrol and electric engine to deliver a much higher fuel efficiency. Because these engines are larger than mHEVs, HEVs can run on electric power only, convenient for smaller trips. An example of a traditional hybrid is the Toyota Prius.
PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid): Outlined as the next generation of hybrids, PHEVs have much larger batteries and motors, which can be charged from regenerative braking or an external power source. Even once the electric engine runs out of charge, the combustion engine kicks to prevent a standstill. An example of a PHEV is the Haval H6 PHEV.
Are Hybrids more fuel efficient than pure combustion cars
Short answer: Yes, and many factors mentioned in the definitions back this claim.
Long answer: It is all about looking at the bigger picture. Let’s factor in a PHEV now, a new generation of hybrid vehicles. Let's say you need to commute to a small, 5km distance. In a fully combustion car, that is eating away 5km of precious mileage. On a PHEV, that's nothing! Why? Because of the all-electric mode on a PHEV, you can simply switch to electric only mode and commute to your 5km trip. Once you get back home, simply plug the car back in and recover the trip you just did, simple as that, and people tend to underestimate how much petrol those little trips use until it's time to fill up.
But what about a HEV or mHEV? Considering you cannot plug them in, how does that work? Simply put, in purely combustion engine vehicles, the harder the engine has to work, the more petrol it uses. We can easily see this with small combustion cars, like the Hyundai Grand i10 or Kia Picanto with their tiny 1.0L and 1.2L engines. Whilst on standard terrain they are rather fuel efficient, introduce hills and now all that fuel savings goes out the window, as the little engine has to work extra hard and thus use more petrol, not to mention their tiny fuel tanks.
On HEVs and mHEVs, the engine works together with the electric engine so that less strain is put on both engines, meaning less fuel is being used. For example, one of our recent test cars was a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, and at low speed, the car would run on electric power only, with the combustion engine sipping petrol mostly to charge the electric motor. Once at highway speed, both engines work together, meaning less strain on the combustion engine whilst more charge on the electric motor, significantly increasing fuel mileage.
As such, that is why we see many companies advertising some of their HEVs, especially PHEVs, with some insane mileage claims, because in theory it is correct. As the petrol or electric engine runs out of charge or fuel, the other engine can keep working and thus the mileage is longer. Essentially; a best of both worlds’ scenario.
