Even without petrol being sold today at a government subsidised price of RM1.95 per liter for RON95 the economics of hybrids make a certain amount of sense, particularly if you find yourself driving a significant number of kilometres each year (please take note Uber, Grab taxi drivers).
For example, let us say you drive 40,000 kilometers a year, and by purchasing a hybrid you can increase your fuel economy by at least 20%. The savings at the fuel pump will work in your favour. Of course, whether a hybrid makes economic sense will depend upon the difference in the purchase price, minus any tax incentives that the government allows on the new car purchase price.
If you can pay off the difference in the amount of time you usually keep a car, it would make reasonably good economic sense to buy a hybrid (better even a used unit). It is also worth noting that Toyota and Honda who have had many hybrids models in the market for a few years already is starting to have their hybrids appearing in the used car market.
So if you’re thinking of going the used hybrid route but worried about cost of replacement batteries and after sales issues, we are here to offer some reassurance to you. Yes, the replacement hybrid battery for the Civic hybrid and Toyota Prius is not cheap like a regular car battery (RM200-600.00 a battery), but its prices have fallen in recent years.
Today you can buy a 2007 Honda Civic 1.3L hybrid battery from just RM7k and a little bit more at RM8k for a 2011 Honda Civic 1.5L hybrid battery.
With the Toyota Prius, the 2008 Prius replacement hybrid battery costs just RM9k and for the Prius C the hybrid battery costs just RM7k plus.
