14 DAY TRIAL // Hybrid electric vehicles present us with a partial solution to alternative renewable energy production, but the problem is that they still run mostly on gasoline fuel and, while some see them as a viable technology for the future, others argue that it is just a cover to bring more money into the pockets of the car manufacturers, which ultimately obstructs the research into fuel-cell electric power generation. Forget about hydrogen powered vehicles, the French National Center for Scientific Research argues that, following this trend, fuel cell vehicles will not enter mass production until 2025, at best.
Jean-Jacques Chanaron, Research director of CNRS, says that although manufacturers don't really obtain significant profit by selling hybrid vehicles, most of them integrate hybrid technology into their vehicle design. Correlating that with the misinformation regarding such vehicles and the fact that they shadow most of the research into hydrogen fuel cell technology, questions quickly raise whether it is environmentally sustainable, especially in the U.S., the home of high greenhouse gas emissions.
Nonetheless, Chanaron also acknowledged that much of the fuel cell technology today has multiple drawbacks and most of the marketing around it is based on the potential use of hydrogen gas. The hybrid vehicles represent only a mid-way solution to the low-emission, high-mileage vehicles, based of Toyota's standards of quality and reliability.
Furthermore, traditional U.S. car manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, well-known for their gas gosling vehicles, are facing political pressure to shift towards more economical solution, especially while considering the petrol crisis, or face fierce competition from the Japanese manufacturer, which is already dominating the hybrid class. The problem is that hybrid technology will not be sustainable for a long period of time, is Chanaron's opinion.
Also, similar to the hydrogen fuel cell cars, hybrid technology is extremely complex which could influence some of the manufacturer to think twice before introducing it into mass production, hard decision one might say. However, the next five years should provide with an accurate observation on the trend that hybrid vehicle manufacturers are following, whether their strategy was successful or not.