Electric vehicles aren’t the only cars that can be plugged into the grid. Plug-in hybrids can theoretically serve as a stepping stone to all-electric vehicles, as they provide enough electric range for short trips while offering the flexibility of a gasoline engine. For those who can’t charge at home or simply don’t want to deal with the uncertainty of public charging infrastructure when traveling by car, they seem to be a good option. But the news cycle has just delivered two reminders of the limits of plug-in hybrids.
Last week, Stellantis abruptly confirmed that it would be discontinuing three popular plug-in hybrid models. And at the Automotive Press Association conference in Detroit on Monday, General Motors CEO Mary Barra admitted an inconvenient truth – that many plug-in hybrid owners don’t actually plug in their cars. The automotive industry as a whole isn’t giving up on plug-in hybrids, but they’re certainly in a tough spot.
Plug-in hybrid promise
The rise of plug-in cars in the early 2010s was a technological revolution not seen since the early days of the automobile itself. And like in the early days of automobile manufacturing, there was a bit of a Wild West feel as competing technologies tried to stake a claim. In this case, fully electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and, to a lesser extent, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have been touted as the cars of the future.
While GM is pessimistic about plug-in hybrids today (outside of China), the company started with what is probably the most famous plug-in hybrid of all. The Chevrolet Volt was inspired by a simple but effective solution from GM’s EV1 project. Because there were no charging stations, engineers used trailers with generators to charge the batteries of these all-electric vehicles. And that remains the main advantage of plug-in hybrids: enough electric range for short trips, which account for the majority of vehicle use, while also being able to charge the battery when charging stations are not available. Taking full advantage of the electric range – typically between 25 and 50 miles – means you burn less gas.
Car manufacturers also found other niche applications. In vehicles like the Bentley Continental GT Speed and Mercedes-AMG S63 E Performance, plug-in hybrid powertrains keep inefficiency under control by giving engineers a path to more power without increasing displacement. The instantaneous torque of electric motors can also complement combustion engines by filling gaps in their power bands. In the Lamborghini Temerario, electrification helps tame a wild, high-revving engine, even if it doesn’t provide a huge boost in efficiency.
But will they be connected?
The Achilles heel of plug-in hybrids is that owners don’t have to plug them in. If they don’t, a regular hybrid will be carrying hundreds of pounds of additional weight in the form of a larger battery pack that isn’t being used. And this is how most plug-in hybrids are powered, said GM boss Mary Barra Reuters Reporter Kalea Hall in a video interview.
“What we also know about plug-in hybrids today is that most people don’t plug them in,” Barra said. “So we try to think very carefully about what we do from a hybrid and plug-in hybrid perspective.”
Barra said what many of her fellow leaders may not want to admit. In 2024 InsideEVs investigated whether owners actually used a power outlet regularly and contacted several car manufacturers to obtain usage data. However, most automakers either couldn’t provide this data or wouldn’t say exactly how often their plug-in hybrids were used as intended.
Several studies have concluded that owners often do not plug in. In 2022, the International Council on Clean Transportation said actual electric miles driven could be 25-65% lower than the range values on plug-in hybrid window stickers, which could result in 42-67% higher fuel consumption. Looking at the European market, a 2025 study by Transport & Environment found that the gap between real emissions and officially assessed emissions for plug-in hybrids has widened in recent years. According to the study, in 2023 plug-in hybrids in practice caused emissions on average five times higher than officially stated.
And do buyers want them?
Car manufacturers can ignore this problem because the regulations do not take real-world emissions or driver behavior into account. But they have to sell cars, and Stellantis apparently thinks it can’t sell plug-in hybrids. Last week it was confirmed that the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and Jeep Wrangler 4xe would not be returning for the 2026 model year. A spokesperson told The Drive that this was due to a “shift in customer demand” and that the automaker would refocus on “more competitive electric solutions, including hybrid and range-extending vehicles.”
Stellantis never separated sales of the plug-in hybrids from their non-hybrid counterparts, but they were believed to sell quite well. The automaker previously said the Wrangler 4xe is the best-selling plug-in hybrid in the United States. But that made him a big fish in a small pond. At the end of 2024, JD Power estimated that plug-in hybrids accounted for just 1.9% of the US new car market – less than all-electric vehicles.
Other factors probably play a role. The Chrysler and Jeep plug-in hybrids have been plagued by recalls, the loss of the federal electric vehicle tax credit is making those vehicles less attractive to buyers, and the Trump administration’s disinterest in enforcing emissions regulations is giving Stellantis temporary leeway. But it’s still a bad sign that Stellantis doesn’t believe there’s a business case for the overall good vehicles. The Pacifica Hybrid was a unique and versatile offering in a market saturated with SUVs, while the Jeep 4xe models retained their towing capacity and off-road capability, giving owners a taste of zero-emission 4×4 vehicles.
Are plug-in hybrids worth keeping?
Plug-in hybrids are here to stay for now. Other automakers like Porsche and Volvo see them as a hedge against unpredictable electric vehicle sales. And as Toyota expands its lineup to include more electric vehicles, Toyota has just given the RAV4 plug-in hybrid even more electric range as part of a redesign for the 2026 model year.
A variation on the theme, known as extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), could also see a resurgence. The combustion engine serves purely as a generator to charge the battery pack. The BMW i3 REx pioneered the concept, but is now being repurposed for large pickup trucks such as the Ram 1500 Ramcharger, the Scout Terra Harvester and a replacement for the Ford F-150 Lightning.
The question is whether these efforts are motivated by a desire to build good cars and trucks or simply by a desire to avoid the problems of charging infrastructure and costs that stand in the way of wider adoption of electric vehicles. Plug-in hybrids don’t have to be an evolutionary dead end, but they shouldn’t hinder electric vehicles either.
