## How to Calculate the Cost Savings of a Hybrid?

18/11/2015
Posted by: webmaster

At one time, hybrid cars clearly made sense. But with seriously improved gas mileage for all cars, is that still true? What formula can we use to decide if the extra cost of a hybrid is worth the improved gas mileage?

First, you figure out the difference between the hybrid and nonhybrid version of the same car, equipped the same way. Let’s use the Toyota RAV4 as an example. A 2020 LE AWD starts at \$25,950. A hybrid version of the same exact car starts at \$28,350. That’s a difference of \$2,400. Now the question is, how long will it take you to save \$2,400 in gasoline?

To do that, you’ll need to know the annual fuel cost for each car. Start by going to fueleconomy.gov and looking up the average miles per gallon of each vehicle. For the RAV4, it’s 30 mpg. For the RAV4 Hybrid, it’s 40 mpg.

Then you take the number of miles you drive in an average year (let’s say it’s 20,000 miles), and divide it by each of those mpg numbers. That tells you how many gallons of fuel you’d need to buy in a year. For the RAV4 (20,000 miles/30 mpg) it’s 666.67 gallons a year. For the RAV4 Hybrid (20,000/40), it’s 500 gallons a year. Then you multiply the number of gallons you’d buy in a year by the price of a gallon.

That varies, obviously, but let’s say it’s \$3 a gallon. So, to run your regular RAV4 for a year, it’d cost you \$2,000 in gasoline (666.67 gallons x \$3 per gallon). Where the RAV4 Hybrid (500 x 3) would cost you \$1,500 a year in gasoline.  Now you can put it all together. You know that you would save \$500 a year in gasoline costs with the RAV4 Hybrid. So divide the extra cost of buying the hybrid (\$2,400) by the amount it would save you per year (\$500), and you learn that it would take about five years for you to “pay off” that premium you spent on the hybrid, before you started banking money.

So if you keep your cars for six, seven or 10 years, it’s clearly worth it. If you keep your car for three or four years, it’s probably not. Now, there are other variables. For instance, hybrids use regenerative braking, so you’ll spend less on brake pads and rotors with a hybrid. You’ll also be using the gasoline engine less, so your cost of maintenance (oils, fluids, belts, filters) will be spread out over a longer period of time.

The price of gasoline is also a big variable. If the price of gasoline drops to \$2 a gallon, it’ll take you seven years to earn back that hybrid premium. If gasoline goes up to \$4 a gallon, it only takes three and a half years to pay it off.

#### So should I buy one ?

And some people believe there’s value in decreasing pollution, increasing American energy independence or simply not having to go to a gas station as often. We don’t have the formulas for that stuff.

But you can at least get a rough idea of the basic economics with the above calculations.

Category:

#### 1 Comment

• sheraz rasool

I believe electric is the future
The text provides a detailed explanation of how to calculate the cost savings of a hybrid car compared to a non-hybrid version, using the Toyota RAV4 as an example. It includes a step-by-step calculation to determine the payback period for the additional cost of a hybrid.
single_question_with_answer
Given a text passage, determine:
    1. If it contains a mathematical question (including word problems or calculations)
    2. If an answer to that mathematical question is provided in the text

First, describe the content structure you found in 1-2 sentences.

Then provide your analysis in the following format:
TYPE: <one of the following values>
- NO_QUESTION
- SINGLE_QUESTION
- SINGLE_QUESTION_WITH_ANSWER
- MULTIPLE_QUESTIONS
- MULTIPLE_QUESTIONS_WITH_ANSWERS
system
## How to Calculate the Cost Savings of a Hybrid?

18/11/2015
Posted by: webmaster

At one time, hybrid cars clearly made sense. But with seriously improved gas mileage for all cars, is that still true? What formula can we use to decide if the extra cost of a hybrid is worth the improved gas mileage?

First, you figure out the difference between the hybrid and nonhybrid version of the same car, equipped the same way. Let’s use the Toyota RAV4 as an example. A 2020 LE AWD starts at \$25,950. A hybrid version of the same exact car starts at \$28,350. That’s a difference of \$2,400. Now the question is, how long will it take you to save \$2,400 in gasoline?

To do that, you’ll need to know the annual fuel cost for each car. Start by going to fueleconomy.gov and looking up the average miles per gallon of each vehicle. For the RAV4, it’s 30 mpg. For the RAV4 Hybrid, it’s 40 mpg.

Then you take the number of miles you drive in an average year (let’s say it’s 20,000 miles), and divide it by each of those mpg numbers. That tells you how many gallons of fuel you’d need to buy in a year. For the RAV4 (20,000 miles/30 mpg) it’s 666.67 gallons a year. For the RAV4 Hybrid (20,000/40), it’s 500 gallons a year. Then you multiply the number of gallons you’d buy in a year by the price of a gallon.

That varies, obviously, but let’s say it’s \$3 a gallon. So, to run your regular RAV4 for a year, it’d cost you \$2,000 in gasoline (666.67 gallons x \$3 per gallon). Where the RAV4 Hybrid (500 x 3) would cost you \$1,500 a year in gasoline.  Now you can put it all together. You know that you would save \$500 a year in gasoline costs with the RAV4 Hybrid. So divide the extra cost of buying the hybrid (\$2,400) by the amount it would save you per year (\$500), and you learn that it would take about five years for you to “pay off” that premium you spent on the hybrid, before you started banking money.

So if you keep your cars for six, seven or 10 years, it’s clearly worth it. If you keep your car for three or four years, it’s probably not. Now, there are other variables. For instance, hybrids use regenerative braking, so you’ll spend less on brake pads and rotors with a hybrid. You’ll also be using the gasoline engine less, so your cost of maintenance (oils, fluids, belts, filters) will be spread out over a longer period of time.

The price of gasoline is also a big variable. If the price of gasoline drops to \$2 a gallon, it’ll take you seven years to earn back that hybrid premium. If gasoline goes up to \$4 a gallon, it only takes three and a half years to pay it off.

#### So should I buy one ?

And some people believe there’s value in decreasing pollution, increasing American energy independence or simply not having to go to a gas station as often. We don’t have the formulas for that stuff.

But you can at least get a rough idea of the basic economics with the above calculations.

Category:

#### 1 Comment

• sheraz rasool

I believe electric is the future
user
The text provides a detailed explanation of how to calculate the cost savings of a hybrid car compared to a non-hybrid version, using the Toyota RAV4 as an example. It includes a step-by-step calculation to determine the payback period for the additional cost of a hybrid.

TYPE: SINGLE_QUESTION_WITH_ANSWER