Hybrid Dreams at the Geneva Auto Show

The annual auto extravaganza is big on green cars this year, especially hybrids, but it'll be a while before they're really mainstream

By Sarah Arnott

As if recession was but a distant memory, the Geneva Motor Show began yesterday with a flurry of glitzy launches overwhelmingly dominated by green technology. Everyone who is anyone in the world of cars is showing off their hybrids – be they electric motors boosting a petrol engine, petrol engines extending the range of electric batteries, or any manner of gradations in between.

It might seem as if mainstream electric motoring is just around the next bend, given the crop being showcased in Geneva – ranging from jaw-dropping super cars from Ferrari (FIATY) and Porsche (PSEPF) to the workhorse Toyota (TM) Auris, with offers too from BMW (BAMXY) and Audi (VLKAY). But, so far, hybrids occupy only the tiniest niche in the global car market, and for all the hype there is a long way to go.

At present there are very few electric hybrids for sale in the UK; the Toyota Prius and the Honda (HMC) Insight are the obvious examples. But the next year or two will see a whole range of new entrants, with the Toyota Auris hybrid this year, the Nissan (NSANY) Leaf and the plug-in Prius next, and the Vauxhall Ampera from early 2012.

The Government firmly supports electric cars. Last week, the Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, confirmed that the Government will stump up 25 per cent of the sale price, or up to £5,000, for buyers of plug-in cars from the start of next year. And in an effort to confront the chicken-and-egg issue of re-charging infrastructure, the government is putting up £30m to fund the installation of 11,000 charging points in London, Milton Keynes and the North-east, with another round of "plugged-in places" to follow.

But there are plenty of potholes in the road ahead. One of the biggest is cost. Hybrid technology is fiendishly expensive, not least because of the cost and weight of the lithium ion batteries. Car companies are busy looking into new financing models to try to make the economics work for their customers, with battery leasing schemes and monthly payment plans both on the table. But even with subsidies and clever financing, there is no getting away from the high up-front cost. VW's Touareg hybrid, for example, is expected to cost as much as £20,000 more than its diesel equivalent. And, with the latest developments in conventional engine technology, the £20,000-cheaper diesel may not be that much dirtier.

Diesels already give hybrids a run for their money on CO2 emissions: the current Prius produces 89 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/km), compared with 104g/km from the Ford (F) Focus Diesel Econetic and 99g/km from VW's diesel Golf Bluemotion. And the particulate emissions that give diesel its bad environmental name are significantly curbed in the modern so-called "clean diesels" using particulate traps and ammonia injection technologies. There are already diesel cars on sale that meet the "Euro 6" particulate emissions targets that do not come into force until 2014.

With all the hype about hybrids, car makers have no choice but to join the rush. But they do not necessarily believe it is the best way forward.

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