Praveen Sharma from Greater Noida is thinking of buying a car. Already have an EV car at home. Now the question again is should you buy EV, petrol car or hybrid? Rising petrol prices and day-to-day expenses are on the one hand. On the other hand, there are EV-related charging and long range concerns. In such a situation, hybrid cars seem to be the middle way. Even in India, the car market is no longer limited to petrol, diesel and EVs. Brands like Toyota, Maruti Suzuki and Honda are selling strong hybrid models and their sales are also growing.
How do hybrid cars work?
A hybrid electric vehicle ie HEV consists of a petrol engine with an electric motor and battery. Depending on the vehicle speed and driving conditions, sometimes the electric motor works, sometimes the petrol engine and when needed, both together provide power to the vehicle. That is, the vehicle itself decides when to spend petrol and when to take help from the battery.
Why get more mileage?
In the city the car stops and starts again and again. At such times, the electric motor can reduce the work of the petrol engine. Some of the energy generated during braking or deceleration of the vehicle is also stored back in the battery. This is called regenerative braking.
This is the reason why hybrid cars are known for their fuel efficiency especially in the city. But automotive expert Tutu Dhawan says hybrid cars can offer better fuel efficiency even on the highway, as part of the driving can be done on battery power.
Big jump in sales
An Autocar India report based on data from the road transport ministry’s vehicle portal suggests that 26,460 hybrid hybrid cars were sold in India between April-June 2025. This data was 12,111 in the same period a year ago. That means the sales have increased by about 118 percent. Toyota accounted for about 81 percent of these sales, Maruti Suzuki for 18 percent and Honda for about 1 percent.
About 3.64 lakh hybrid vehicles were registered on the vehicle portal in FY 2024-25. In 2023-24 this number was around 91,720. That is a jump of 297 percent in enrollment.
Demand for hybrids remains unchanged even in 2026. Autocar India H1 2026 figures show Toyota Hyrider sales up 23 per cent year-on-year, Honda City Hyrider sales up 22 per cent. Citing data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), a Reuters report said hybrids accounted for 8.3 percent of India’s passenger car sales in June 2026. In the same month, CNG’s share was 24.3 percent and EV’s was 7.8 percent.
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