In 2013 Visham Babwah, the president of the T&T Automotive Dealers Association (TTADA), sold his first foreign-used hybrid vehicle, a 2008 Honda Civic for $135,000. In that year there were no concessions for hybrids and the early buyers were sceptical of what was relatively new and uncommon technology in T&T.
Five years later, in 2018 Babwah told Guardian Media that the 2008 Civic was still working perfectly and its owner cannot be more pleased thus putting a dent into the words of those opposing hybrids.
Taxes were dropped on hybrids 2015 and gas prices subsequently started going up in 2015.
Babwah said the lowering of taxes saw a rush for both new and foreign-used vehicles.
“Used car dealers are given an annual total quota of 15,000 vehicles that can be imported. However, there is no quota to the amount of new vehicles dealers can import.”
He added that consumers prefer to purchase a new hybrid since they are guaranteed of a longer battery life that can exceed 10 years and a three-year warranty on a new vehicle while foreign used vehicle carry a three-month or 3,000 kilometre warranty.
Babwah said there are many alternate energy cars on the global market including those running on hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol and solar-power.
In T&T, however, gasoline-electric hybrids and fully electric vehicles are the emerging choices.
Breaking down the types of hybrids, Babwah said there are three main types available in T&T.
He said the classic regenerative hybrids contain a gas engine and an electric motor. With this design the car switches between gas and electric modes.
The second type is the plug-in-hybrid that is offered by manufacturers as Mercedes Benz, BMW and Toyota. This allows the user to recharge the hybrid battery at home and use the car in electric-only mode for driving short distances.
During longer runs the car switches between gasoline and electric in the same manner as the regenerative hybrid.
Babwah said the third type is Nissan’s e-Power hybrid. He said this is popular in the Nissan Note and Nissan Serena that may make these vehicles among the best buy. He said the e-Power melds the best of internal-combustion and battery-powered worlds.
The wheels are powered by an electric motor, so drivers are treated to the silken acceleration and instant torque of a pure electric car. But, when the battery levels are low, there’s no need to plug in and wait for hours to charge. Instead, the three-cylinder gasoline engine kicks in and acts as a generator, charging the battery as you drive.
Babwah said by next month consumers can look forward to the fully electric cars as the Nissan Leaf that can plug at home for charging and have a range up to 150 miles on a single charge. Babwah said to charge the Leaf costs around $350,000 which he believes can result to tremendous savings to the motorist.
“People are purchasing vehicles as the Toyota Prius, Toyota Aqua, Toyota Sienta, Toyota CHR, Toyota Corolla Axio, Toyota Corolla Fielder Wagon, Honda Vezel (HRV), Honda Fit, Honda Freed, Honda Grace (City), Nissan Note, Nissan X Trail, Nissan Serena and the luxury line includes Mercedes Benz and BMW.
The most popular used Hybrid vehicles are the Toyota Aqua, Toyota Corolla Axio, Toyota Corolla Fielder and Honda Grace (City).
The most popular new hybrid vehicles are the Nissan Note, Honda Vezel (HRV) and Honda Grace (City). The used Toyota Aqua can cost from $68,000. The brand new Nissan Note can cost from $135,000.
The brand new Honda Vezel can cost from $190,000. The Used Nissan Leaf can cost from $110,000 and the brand new Leaf can cost from $260,000.
He said issues that have arisen with the hybrid vehicles so far have been resolved. Replacement batteries can be sought if a consumer requires.
“All vehicles manufacturers in the world are focusing on manufacturing electric hybrid and full electric vehicles not CNG. Hybrid vehicles are the most fuel efficient vehicles and are the easiest to refuel since it does not require the installation of additional infrastructure. ”
