Volvo executive tells the ‘truth’ about plug-in hybrid cars: ‘worst of both worlds’

An executive at Polestar, Volvo’s spin-off sports electric vehicle brand, has struck a critical tone regarding the industry’s energy transition. Scott Maynard, the manufacturer’s managing director in Australia, defined plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) as “the worst of both worlds”. The statement only reinforces the automaker’s strategy of ignoring internal combustion engines to focus investments exclusively on 100% electric vehicles.

In Maynard’s assessment, the attempt to reconcile a gasoline engine with a more robust electrical system results in an unnecessarily complex and heavy set. The executive argues that the vehicle inherits the disadvantages of both architectures: the high mass of the batteries and the mechanical complexity of the thermal propellant. “You end up carrying an internal combustion engine and a fuel tank everywhere, even when you don’t use them,” the director told the Motor1 portal.

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Another point of criticism lies in maintenance. Having two independent systems under the hood means, in practice, double overhaul costs for the owner. Maynard also points out a vice in use: many plug-in hybrid owners rarely use external charging. Without electric charge, the vehicle consumes more fuel than a conventional model just to shift the additional weight of the inactive electrical components.

Polestar’s stance ignores the paradox of its own history, as its first independent model, the Polestar 1, was precisely a plug-in hybrid. In addition, Maynard’s speech generates diplomatic wear and tear within the Geely group. That’s because sister brands such as Volvo, Lotus and Lynk & Co continue to invest PHEVs as a source of revenue and volume in markets where charging infrastructure is still nascent.

For Polestar, however, the additional hardware required by hybrids is a hindrance that sacrifices interior space and performance, becoming a transitional technology that loses its meaning as the range of purely electric cars advances.