Plug-in hybrids to exist beyond 2030, says ZF

MUNICH: Governments and car manufacturers might slowly be moving away from diesel and petrol cars, and yet automotive supplier ZF still sees a future for plug-in hybrids well into the next decade.

Based on its own backlog of orders, it expects the vehicles to play an important role in the electrification of individual mobility "well beyond 2030 in many parts of the world," ZF CEO Wolf-Henning Scheider said at the IAA Mobility motor show here on Monday.

And while plug-in hybrids may not be disappearing anytime soon, the German company says their electric-only range will expand beyond 100km, unlike in many current hybrid SUVs where battery support is meant mostly to improve efficiency and not cover longer distances.

Overall, Scheider also sees a social shift coming our way in terms of mobility, as our willingness to adapt how we get around has never been greater than now.

Plug-in hybrids combine a combustion engine with the ability to also drive purely electrically with an externally rechargeable battery.

However, environmental groups say many are little more than a way for manufacturers to greenwash their petrol and diesel cars.

How climate-friendly they are depends, among other things, on how large the proportion of kilometres that are actually driven purely electrically is.