The Wednesday Briefs 163 - 12 April 2023
THIS WEEK: Hybrid Vehicles; Stress Testing; US Suicides; English Speakers; The Whisperer; S&P Sectors Update.
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HYBRID VEHICLES
They are not as enticing to climate purists as electric vehicles (EVs) but hybrid cars will likely remain a viable option for car buyers for some time to come. Hybrids bring no risk of being stranded with a dead battery and they never need a slow recharge at remote locations in the middle of the night. In addition, hybrid vehicles use far smaller quantities of the industrial commodities that electric vehicles require. For example, the chart below shows the amount of copper required for various vehicles. Plug-in hybrids require 132 lbs on average while EVs require 183 lbs. That gap is even greater for buses, 196 lbs for hybrid buses and 814 lbs for electric buses.
Meanwhile, hybrid car unit sales continue to hold up respectably. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics(part of the US Department of Transportation), unit sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles saw significan…