Cheaper, more efficient batteries add power to hybrid cars

New York

NEXT-GENERATION hybrid cars combining electric and gas power in new ways are emerging as a low-cost alternative for consumers as batteries get cheaper and more efficient.

Battery packs for electric vehicles, loaded with lithium ion cells, now cost around US$496 a kilowatt-hour, a 60 per cent drop from 2010. That could plunge to US$175 within five years, according to Sam Jaffe with Navigant Consulting.