'It's the worst of both worlds': Are hybrid cars like the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Santa Fe the future, or is this electric carmaker on the money with an EV-only model plan?

While a number of car brands backtrack on electric cars and embrace hybrids, one EV manufacturer has no plans to offer petrol-electric powertrains.

Polestar only sells battery electric vehicles including the Polestar 2, 3 and 4 — with another couple on the horizon — but other carmakers have tweaked their electrification strategies in response to slowing demand for EVs globally.

Hyundai Group, which includes Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, has launched a number of EVs across all brands but recently announced plans to increase hybrid offerings in response to market demands.

Mercedes-Benz backflipped on its decision to drop plug-in hybrids from its range and will add PHEV grades to some of its popular models like the C-Class.

MG, GWM, Honda, Nissan and Suzuki are all in on hybrids as brands try to cash in on what Toyota has known for a long time — hybrids sell.

In Australia, EV sales continue to climb steadily on 2023, with this year up 6.7 per cent to 76,640 units. Meanwhile, hybrid registrations have skyrocketed by 83 per cent to just over 144,000 units, and plug-in hybrid sales have increased by 104 per cent to 18,000 units.

Still, those numbers have not spooked Polestar Australia Managing Director Scott Maynard, who questions the green credentials of hybrid vehicles.

“I don’t have any concerns about it, because our sustainability story still seems to be ringing true with lots and lots of people that choose our brand and a hybrid doesn't have that story,” he told CarsGuide at the recent Polestar 4 launch.

“It's the worst of both worlds. You've got all of the complexity of jamming an electrical drivetrain into an engine bay that's already got a petrol or a diesel engine in it. You're still burning fuel. You've still got to dispose of the whole thing. It's not a green solution.

“Yes, it burns… lots less fuel during its time. But it's not a clean solution at all, but it's a marketable one. And yes, people are capitalising on that for now. But it'll have its day, and then there'll still be those that will seek out the truly green alternative and a car that does have a lesser impact. And that's where EVs will rise again.”

While Maynard is keeping the faith in electric cars, he acknowledged that the wider car market in Australia is a way off adopting EVs on a massive scale.

“It will continue to work its way up to its natural position,” he said when asked what Australia’s EV market will look like in a few years time.

“I don't think we're at a point yet where we could see a spot on the horizon where you’d say ‘we will be 100 per cent electrified by that point’. I don't think that point is visible to us. It's been called out a few times along the way, but not well, and I don't think that point is visible just yet.”

Maynard added that different elements will nudge EV uptake and sales along, including improvements to charging infrastructure, the variation in product and schemes like the Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).

“As government incentives are lined up nationally, instead of this disparate state-based system, that'll nudge it along. NVES… will assist, which is the government's intent. So there'll be lots of little bits that will see it nudge up.”

He highlighted challenges around countering misinformation about EVs, but is confident that Australia will see the environmental benefits of electric vehicles in the long run.

“And so working against it are things like the continued spread of misinformation, and the talk about, ‘how long does a battery last, and is it actually serviceable?’ And all of those little bits and pieces that perhaps push back against it, from time to time, and so you know that toing and froing will determine just what its rate of climb is, but it will continue to climb.

“And I think everyone can see that, for reasons of environmental sustainability, we need to get there. The pace at which we do it will probably spit and spurt, but we'll get there.”