Cars have evolved dramatically over the course of the last century. Despite the growth of automobile industry by leaps and bounds, their only source of power is the internal combustion engine (ICE), one of the most important innovations of the 20th century.

Before the ICE, automobiles were considered an evolution of horse carriages. No wonder these steam-powered vehicles were referred to as ‘horseless carriages’. It was only after the advent of the internal combustion engine that the automobile industry entered into a new era and never looked back, until the 70s came along.

As a result of the Arab-Israel war, there was an unprecedented increase in oil prices which made car makers rethink their strategy. Many drivers traded in their big gas guzzling Cadillacs for smaller cars.

The focus of the industry shifted to cars that were lighter, smaller and fuel efficient. Carmakers also faced immense criticism regarding how car emissions were causing air pollution and contributing to global warming.

To counter this criticism, several automakers launched prototypes of electric cars, but most proved unsuccessful or unsuitable for mass production because of heavy, expensive batteries and the fact that they had to be charged from an external source.

The first serious effort came from Toyota in 1997 in the form of the Prius, which was the first commercially mass-produced hybrid vehicle in the world. The hybrid car concept essentially involves the combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

Unlike earlier unsuccessful electric cars, the electric motor in the Prius does not require any external charging. The car uses regular gasoline as its source of fuel and in motion, the engine output is partially diverted towards charging a high capacity battery pack which in turns powers the electric motor.

Once the batteries are charged, the hybrid drive system kicks in, in which the ICE and the motor work in combination to run the car. The electric motor allows the car to be driven at low speed or cruise around at constant speed with the engine essentially cut off. If there is a need to accelerate or tackle a slope, the engine comes into play, providing the excess power required while charging the batteries, using minimum amount of fuel.

The smart engineering does not end here; the hybrid car also uses braking energy to charge the batteries which in regular cars go wasted.

In context of the Pakistani market, there is an increasing number of Toyota Prius models and things just seem to be warming up. However, before you spend 1.6 million rupees on Prius, some factors need to be taken into account. The used Toyota Prius models available here are about 4-5 years old on average which means that they have already consumed about 40 to 45 per cent of their 250,000 kilometers battery life.

Not only the replacement cost of the batteries can set you back the price of a small compact car, its availability is not easily guaranteed in Pakistan yet.

Toyota claims that the Prius will give over 30 kilometers per liter but the best mileage Prius owners in Pakistan expect to get is about 24 km/L. Its maintenance also remains a big question mark since there is a dearth of spare parts as well as qualified mechanics to service the complex drivetrain.

Despite the inherent issues of owning a Prius in Pakistan, it is still technically the best all-round hybrid package which also makes it a world best seller in its class. If the slightly “strange looking” Toyota Prius is not your thing, and you prefer a bit of form over fuel economy, you may opt for the Honda Civic Hybrid, which looks like the regular Honda Civic except for the hybrid badge and a single tail pipe instead of the dual one found in the regular versions.

Although about 40 percent more fuel efficient than the regular Civic, the Prius remains undisputed in fuel economy. The Civic has a few advantages for the Pakistani market. Since it shares the chassis and other mechanical parts of its regular locally-assembled gasoline cousin, most spare parts can be sourced through local dealers or Honda agents. Like the Prius, there still aren’t many options available for maintaining the drivetrain.

However, all hope is not lost and there are signs that the industry is gearing up to meet the demand for hybrid cars. Most of you must have read that the import duties on hybrids under 1200cc have been removed, but there aren’t many viable options available in that class.

What is more significant is that the import duties on the 1200cc to 1800cc class have been slashed down to 50 percent. This engine class includes the Prius and the Civic as well as other compact cars from Honda. With this initiative we can expect more avenues for repair and maintenance in the coming years which should make buying hybrid cars a safer investment than it is today.

What remains to be seen is when we will get a taste of a locally-produced model which in turn will ensure that all the required maintenance facilities are available. At this stage, we can keep our fingers crossed in anticipation regarding whether it will be Toyota Indus Motors or Honda Atlas that will produce Pakistan’s first-locally assembled hybrid car.