America’s automakers have staked their futures on the notion that electric vehicles will dominate sales in the coming years, spurred by buyers determined to reduce carbon emissions and save on fuel.
But so far, while EV sales are growing, their pace is falling well short of the industry’s ambitious timetable for transitioning away from combustion engines. Instead, buyers are increasingly embracing a quarter-century-old technology whose popularity has been surging: The gas-electric hybrid, which alternates from gas to battery power to maximize efficiency.
So far in 2023, Americans have bought a record 1 million-plus hybrids — up 76% from the same period last year, according to Edmunds.com. As recently as last year, purchases had fallen below 2021’s total. This year’s figures don’t even include sales of 148,000 plug-in hybrids, which drive a short distance on battery power before a gas-electric system kicks in.
Not the OP, but the Kia thefts were on their lower trim packages that did not have push to start options and used keyed ignition instead. Any of their PHEVs or hybrid models tend to only have the higher trim packages so they can charge more for them (I own a Kia Niro PHEV), and the push to start keyless starters have the immobilizer installed. It’s started to die down a bit on the thefts, but make sure that the model you’re looking at has push to start AND immobilizer installed before buying.
I love my Kia, and I would recommend them highly based on my personal experience, but just make sure you research before picking one up.
Thank you, that’s very helpful!