Autoline reports on SAE PHEV conference

[bwilson4web]

I was of mixed mind about adding this to the Toyota PHEV thread but it is generic to the whole PHEV market:

• Some countries require a 50 mile EV range to get a subsidy
• At 50 mile EV range, the PHEV become cost competitive with a BEV having a 250 mile range
• Many PHEVs are not plugging-in but just using the PHEV label for exclusive travel lanes

Having owned and operated two PHEV, everything John reports from the SAE conference rings true:

• 2014 BMW i3-REx, 72 mi EV, 0.647 L engine - we still have this car originally as backup for our Tesla Model 3 Std Rng Plus. The small engine and battery gives a 140 mile range. However, my wife loves it getting $2.75/100 miles EV yet able to drive in one day over 700 miles using the REx. It has ~75,000 miles and is her daily driver. It charges twice as fast as our former Prius Prime and has 50 kW DC charging.
• 2017 Prius Prime, 25 mi EV, 1.8 L engine - burdened by an oversized engine, it has an excessive 640 mile range. Like the SAE reports and some governments, a minimum of 50 miles EV is needed for support. So we traded it in, $18,300, for a 2019 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, $41,000, for an out of pocket cost of ~$24,000. New, the Prius Prime cost $29,000 and I had to fly to Rhode Island to buy it and drive home to Alabama.

My experience matches the criticisms SAE leveled at PHEV. As for the Prius Prime, with a smaller engine sized to maintain 70-75 mph; larger traction battery 72 mi or more; faster AC charging, +7 kWh, and; fast DC charging, it might have replaced our 2014 BMW i3-REx. But it didn't so we went to BEV and never looked back.

Bob Wilson