They’re bought as automobiles that may reduce petrol consumption however assessments on Australian roads present some hybrid automobiles use extra gasoline than commonplace fashions.
In a single case, a light hybrid automobile used 12% extra petrol than its inside combustion equal on highways and a standard hybrid used virtually 3% extra gasoline.
The Australian Vehicle Affiliation revealed the findings right now in an evaluation of 16 real-world assessments on hybrid and petrol automobiles from 5 manufacturers.
The information follows a spike within the recognition of hybrid automobiles, with gross sales of recent fashions rising by greater than 34% in Australia over the previous 12 months.
The affiliation examined 16 automobiles together with six typical hybrid automobiles, two delicate hybrid automobiles and their petrol equivalents.
Delicate hybrid automobiles function a small battery and electrical motor to help a petroleum engine throughout brief bursts and each hybrid kinds promise to chop petrol consumption.
The true-world assessments carried out in Victoria confirmed three out of 4 Toyota hybrid automobiles reduce petrol use by greater than 30% on common, whereas a Honda CR-V hybrid and a gentle hybrid Suzuki Swift diminished gasoline consumption by 23% and 17%, respectively.
However GWM’s Jolion hybrid automobile reduce consumption by considerably lower than promised, with a 17% gasoline saving in comparison with 38% indicated by laboratory assessments.
It additionally used extra petrol than the usual Jolion mannequin when travelling on highways.
The Subaru Forester delicate hybrid used extra petrol than its inside combustion equal by 2.8% on common, though the mannequin has been discontinued.
The findings had been stark given hybrids typically commanded a better value than petrol automobiles, Australian Vehicle Affiliation managing director Michael Bradley mentioned.
“Our programme continues to point out that lab take a look at outcomes on the windscreens of recent automobiles can differ considerably from real-world efficiency and cost-focused clients ought to do their analysis earlier than spending their cash,” he mentioned.
Checks revealed hybrid automobiles had been considerably extra fuel-efficient on city areas than rural roads and had been at their least environment friendly on highways.
The Toyota Camry hybrid automobile reduce gasoline consumption by 50% on metropolis roads, however solely 13% on highways.
The discrepancy was frequent for hybrid automobiles however many shoppers weren’t conscious of it, Australian Electrical Automobile Affiliation nationwide president Chris Jones mentioned.
“The standard hybrid, which is mainly a really environment friendly petrol automobile, has been optimised for start-stop site visitors and that is the place most driving in Australia is completed,” he mentioned.
“It is that optimisation for the low speeds that has resulted in a decline within the effectivity at excessive speeds.”
In consequence, typical hybrid automobiles is probably not as helpful for drivers in regional or rural Australia as a plug-in hybrid or an electrical automobile, Jones mentioned.
Australian motorists purchased greater than 47,000 new hybrid automobiles within the first three months of 2025, in keeping with the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
