Quote:
Originally Posted by TF110
Why do hybrids have to be that much? Prius's and other road hybrids don't cost boatloads of money to run or produce. Other areas of development should be opened up so that teams aren't focused on that single area. Or make hybrid optional but give more than just a chance to teams not running one to win.
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Yeah but a Prius also isn't a performance hybrid. You could make the same argument for a petrol car - why does a racing car cost millions when I can buy a Ford Fiesta for £20? If you want a high performance one, it costs more, a lot more.
Toyota have done a very good job of making the Prius profitable, but it hasn't always been. It was losing $20,000 per unit in the 90s, but Toyota stuck with it, betting big on it and it paid off. Most other OEMs haven't gone through that, and even binned non-profitable EV/hybrids before (Toyota did with the RAV4 EV too). The BMW i3 doesn't turn a profit per unit, and the last figure I heard for the Chevy Volt was they were hoping it would finally be profitable in 2017, after losing $50,000 per car originally. The Bolt full EV is still losing $8,000 per car on release day, which isn't that bad for a brand new EV/hybrid. And a lot of these are just compliance cars, to make sure that as an OEM they meet emission regulations over the entire range, rather than try and seriously produce an EV/hybrid.
This stuff is expensive, and the Prius went through rough times to get to the stage it's at. I suppose to put it in perspective, the Prius was first announced before the Toyota GT-One even raced at Le Mans.
Edit: I like your idea of optional hybrids. Or (and some won't like this), standard hybrids. Plug and play hybrids. It'd require a fair bit of work to actually make one, but it could be done. And I know we'll all be moving to electric road cars one day (can't wait to own a Tesla...just need a lot more money), but it'll be a sad day when race circuits are quiet.