In recent years, hybrids have become increasingly popular in Finland. More and more hybrid passenger cars are being imported and sold, which clearly shows consumers are interested in hybrids.
Cars that are powered by more than one power source, such as a combination of a combustion engine and an electric motor, are called hybrids. The number of hybrid cars in Finland has grown each year. An increasing proportion of sold and imported passenger cars are also hybrids.
We took a look at the most popular hybrid cars based on their propulsion and car make.
In addition to gasoline- or diesel-powered combustion engine, hybrid vehicles often feature an electric motor. A hybrid vehicle created economic savings by utilising braking energy.
It is charged using an electric generator, which powers the vehicle’s batteries with energy to be used by the electric motor. This electricity is then used as auxiliary energy when accelerating the speed of the vehicle, for example. Rechargeable hybrids can be loaded externally by using mains electricity. Plug-in hybrids can be driven for 30–80 kilometres using only electric power without utilising the combustion engine.
There are two types of hybrid vehicles. The type of the vehicle depends on if it can be charged or not. Based on this, the vehicles are called either rechargeable hybrid vehicles, or non-rechargeable hybrids. Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between the different types of hybrid vehicles.
The amount of first-time registration of passenger vehicles have significantly increased during the recent years. In 2021, the registration of hybrid cars reached a peak year when 48 245 new hybrids were registered in Finland.
In 2020, the number was approximately 31,957 registration. In 2018 and 2019, the amount of registrations were significantly lower.
| Propulsion system | Number of first-time registration |
|---|---|
| Non-rechargeable hybrids | 28 106 |
| Plug-in hybrids | 20 139 |
| Total | 48 245 |
In 2021, a larger proportion of first-time registrations of hybrid passenger cars were non-rechargeable than plug-ins. This was also the case in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
However, in light of the statistics, it is interesting that the proportion of plug-in hybrids of all hybrids has clearly increased during the last year. In 2018, plug-in hybrids made up 29.3% of hybrids, and in 2019, the number was 27.7%. In 2020, their amount increased to 41.1% and 2021 already to 71.6%.
The most popular hybrid cars follow a very similar trend of brand loyalty as the best-selling cars. All-around Finnish favourites also dominate the top 10 list of the most popular hybrid cars.
With its lion’s share of first-time registrations of passenger cars, Volvo was clearly the most popular hybrid car brand of 2021. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Skoda and Audi also stood out as popular brands.
More and more hybrid passenger cars are being imported into Finland. The list of the most imported and most popular used hybrid cars differs slightly from the hybrid car brands with most first-time registrations. However, there are familiar names among the top five car brands.
The most imported hybrid car brand of in 2021 was Volkswagen. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Mitsubishi were also very popular, even though their import numbers were significantly lower than those of Volkswagen.
A hybrid car can help you spend less fuel, resulting in savings. When it comes to making the choice of if you should get a hybrid or not, you should also take into account where you are going to be driving your car.
In order for the hybrid technology to function correctly, a plug-in hybrid requires regular charging, which means you should consider the number and locations of charging points in the areas you plan to frequent. For this reason, hybrid cars are especially well suited for use in urban areas. They are an economical choice for a driving style that includes a lot of braking and accelerations.
If you drive your car mostly on the road outside cities, you may not benefit as much from switching to a hybrid car, as the car may not be able to charge enough energy due to the low amount of braking and the limited battery capacity of the car.
Measurements show that carbon dioxide emissions of hybrid cars are on average up to less than half of those of regular passenger cars. This is shown in The Finnish Information Centre of Automobile Sector’s statistics on carbon dioxide emission of newly registered passenger cars.
However, the actual emissions of hybrid cars depend on both the car and the driver. Different factors affecting the emissions produced include, among other things, if the car is mainly used to travel short or long distances, and how much energy the vehicle is able recover from braking.
It also makes a difference how often plug-in users remember and bother to recharge the batteries of their car. Hybrid cars in and of themselves may also have different features that cause the vehicle to automatically prefer the internal combustion engine over using electric energy.
Hydrogen cars have long been considered to be “the cars of the future”. In many countries, hydrogen is seen as an opportunity to alleviate the global energy- and climate-related challenges, since hydrogen can be used to store and transmit electricity. Hydrogen cars, which are also called fuel cell cars or FCCs, were developed with this objective.
They use a fuel cell to generate electricity from hydrogen and oxygen. FCCs often offer a longer driving range than electric cars. Thus, they may be well-suited as commercial vehicles, for example. In addition to this, the only exhaust they produce is water vapour, which is even cleaner than the surrounding air.
Even though hydrogen cars have not yet exactly found their way to Finland, they are already used to a degree in other countries. In order for hydrogen cars to really gain a foothold in Finland, a sufficient number of hydrogen fuelling stations would be needed, among other things. Only time will tell if they will some day become a more common sight on Finnish roads and streets.
Hybrids are often more expensive than traditional combustion engine vehicles. If you decide to purchase a hybrid, you may, however, save on fuel costs. One option to finance a new hybrid car is to get a car loan.
You can even acquire car financing as a consumer credit If you decide to do this, the ownership of the vehicle will immediately be transferred to your name, and you will not need any collaterals to back your loan. In order to find the most affordable car loan available for you, you should compare loan offers from various different banks and financing companies. Sortter makes comparing loans quick, easy and free of charge.
Comparing loan offers by using Sortter’s website does not obligate you to anything. You also do not have to worry about the last larger instalment of your car financing, also called residual payment, since the loan will be paid directly onto your account, which means you will be considered a cash buyer.
Enter the desired loan and monthly instalment amounts in the loan application. After you have sent your application, you will receive a clearly presented listing of your car financing options arranged in an ascending order according to their annual percentage rate from.
By using Sortter’s comparison listing to choose an affordable loan, you can have a brand-new hybrid car standing on your yard in no time.
Sources
The Finnish Information Centre of Automobile Sector
