A lot of your argument falls apart when considering the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, as it is priced exactly the same as the regular version of the Lincoln MKZ.
Hybrid vs Electric Uptake
Hybrids take a long time to pay back their costs. Most would assume buying a hybrid offers huge savings over pure gas models but because of the high prices when hybrids first broke market and their marginal fuel savings owners would have to own the Hybrid over 10 years before any savings were realized.
On the flip side Hybrid vehicles have cut the development costs for pure EV vehicles, not to mention there are EVS available for under $30,000.
A third point being that when Hybrids first came out they were foreign to the entire industry and they needed to change perception before mainstream uptake, plus gas hadn't settled in over $3/gallon. the ELR is breaking in at a time when hybrid vehicles have been around for almost a decade and consumers are used to the squeeze of $3-$4 gallonsinstead of viewing it as a temporary price even 2 years ago.
Lastly when hybrids first came out there were two options, the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius. Now Ford has EV's, Chevy has EV's (two of them), Fiat, Mitsubishi, Nissan and of course Tesla are all players in this market segment. EVs offered arent these far out ugly looking hybrid ducklings of a decade ago, they're stylish (somewhat) and engaging to drive.
Its a cool comparison to look at EV's vs Hybrids but in all fairness EV's are more a continuation of Hybrids than a straight up competitor to them.
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On the flip side Hybrid vehicles have cut the development costs for pure EV vehicles, not to mention there are EVS available for under $30,000.
A third point being that when Hybrids first came out they were foreign to the entire industry and they needed to change perception before mainstream uptake, plus gas hadn't settled in over $3/gallon. the ELR is breaking in at a time when hybrid vehicles have been around for almost a decade and consumers are used to the squeeze of $3-$4 gallonsinstead of viewing it as a temporary price even 2 years ago.
Lastly when hybrids first came out there were two options, the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius. Now Ford has EV's, Chevy has EV's (two of them), Fiat, Mitsubishi, Nissan and of course Tesla are all players in this market segment. EVs offered arent these far out ugly looking hybrid ducklings of a decade ago, they're stylish (somewhat) and engaging to drive.
Its a cool comparison to look at EV's vs Hybrids but in all fairness EV's are more a continuation of Hybrids than a straight up competitor to them.
