Why Green Vehicles are the Future
Tuesday 6th November, 2012
The first hybrid road model was released by Honda thirteen years ago in 1999. Since then, the market for hybrid and green cars has flourished, with more and more people taking steps to reduce the impact that their road use has on the environment.
At the beginning of this year, it was reported that sales of Honda hybrids alone had reached 800,000 – marking the progression the manufacturer has made in the green car industry.
Understanding hybrids
While any vehicle which utilises more than one power source can be termed a hybrid, when we're talking about green cars on today's market, we are usually referring to one which combines conventional petrol fuels and electric power. Making use of an internal combustion engine to drive the car and to charge powerful batteries, hybrid cars have the edge over all-electric vehicles when it comes to performance. Meanwhile, the ability to run as an electric vehicle results in significantly improved fuel economy and lower carbon emissions, making it superior to traditional vehicles when environmental impacts are considered.
With the success of green technology in our cars, manufacturers are now able to supply a range of eco-friendly vehicles, ranging from a sports coupe to family estate models. What's more, recent developments have allowed for the performance of these eco-friendly cars to be light-years ahead of earlier models. In hybrid models, batteries are smaller and more powerful than ever before and the traditional combustion engines themselves are more environmentally friendly.
So what's prompted this shift in consumer demand and the advancement of green technologies? Needless to say, they each have a sizeable impact on the other, but there is more to it than this.
A growing concern for the environment has become a common trend in societies around the world in recent years. Add to this a sky high price for motor fuel and it is easy to understand the desire felt by an increasing number of road users to seek out more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles. The best green cars are those which are not only capable of outperforming their competitors but which are deemed the most reliable by consumers. A recent What Car? study once again found Honda to rank top in this category.
It's not only hybrid vehicles which consumers are turning to, however. The option for drivers to purchase these cars which offer superior fuel economy has prompted the traditionally powered market to compete in a similar fashion. For example, a Honda Jazz ES is capable of reaching almost 55mpg whilst achieving low CO2 emissions of just 120g/km. The further benefit found by users is an exemption from road tax and, in some cases, from congestion charges.
The future of going green
Green technology in cars has responded to a growing awareness of our environmental responsibility as a society. On top of that, it is offering road users the opportunity to reduce the cost of travelling by road – news which is sure to be universally embraced as financial restrictions continue to plague most developed and developing nations. The future of going green is therefore only likely to thrive as increased demand and growing appreciation for environmental preservation continues.
