So says Felix Kramer, founder of The California Cars Initiative (CalCars):
A few small companies will start to offer services and products for converting hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius that currently get around 50 miles per gallon into plug-in hybrids that rely more heavily on electrical power and can get about 100 miles per gallon. … In general, plug-in hybrids have much larger battery packs than standard hybrids–in prototypes, the extra batteries fill up the space where spare tires now reside–and much smaller gas motors. The batteries can be recharged by plugging the car into any wall socket. … But conversion won’t be cheap–at least initially. California’s EDrive Systems will charge around $10,000 to $12,000 to install the extra lithium batteries needed to turn a standard Prius into a plug-in hybrid when its service begins later this summer. At that price, and with gas at $3 a gallon, it would take around 160,000 to 200,000 miles of driving to break even. As a result, conversion services today are really being sold more as a luxury option or status symbol.
That means plug-in hybrid owners can look down their noses at regular “gas guzzling” hybrids:
But some groups are looking to the do-it-yourself crowd for a cheaper solution. Canada’s Hymotion, which already converts fleets of hybrids for corporate customers, will charge about $9,500 for a kit aimed at consumers that it will start shipping in October. And Hymotion can convert more than just the Prius. CalCars is working with independent inventors to bring the price of a DIY kit based around an open blueprint to about $3,000.
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