Mild hybrid vehicles
Mild hybrid vehicles – The recently launched Fiat Pulse and Fastback Bio-Hybrid are not electrified vehicles, according to new criteria adopted by ABVE, the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association. On Monday, the 10th, the entity stated that it “adjusted its classification criteria to present figures that are more accurate in reflecting the reality of electromobility in Brazil”.
Since January, ABVE has only considered pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and closed hybrids with independent electric traction to some degree, as electrified.
Technologies that do not have an electric motor above 60V and do not have electric traction capable of moving the vehicle alone for some time will not be included in the hybrid statistics of ABVE Data, the entity’s department responsible for surveying and analyzing figures for the sector.
On the market since October, the national Pulse and Fastback, which in January already placed Fiat as the second brand in hybrid sales, according to Fenabrave, are considered by the entity to be MHEV, micro-hybrid, or mild hybrid vehicles.
The electric motor of just 3 kW or 4 horsepower in SUVs does not drive the wheels alone but helps the combustion engine when starting or when traveling uphill in lower gears and speeds.
Without mentioning the products of the Italian brand, for now, the only national ones with the technology that is no longer considered, ABVE says that “the arrival on the market of new 12V MHEV hybrid vehicles, starting in October 2024, may generate a distortion in the data on the real growth in the sale of electrified vehicles in Brazil.
“We made this update to make it clearer to the consumer and the market which vehicles can effectively be considered electrified. It has become imperative to rigorously separate which ones effectively contribute to electromobility and which ones do not contribute as much,” said Ricardo Bastos, president of ABVE.
The director points out that 12V to 48V micro hybrids represented a small portion of sales until 2024 and that they may significantly increase their share in the coming years, replacing similar combustion-powered vehicles.
Bastos: clearer information for the market and government.
“We believe it is important to improve the classification methodology to provide information that is more accurate in the reality of electromobility, which is of interest to consumers, the market, governments, and society in general.”
ABVE argues that the change in classification was preceded by an analysis of international literature and applicable national standards. When consulted by AutoIndústria, Stellantis did not comment.
In January, according to Fenabrave, 16.3 thousand electrified vehicles were licensed in the domestic market. Almost 12.7 thousand were hybrids and 3.7 thousand electric vehicles were powered exclusively by batteries.
Fiat appeared for the first time ahead of GWM as the second brand that sold the most hybrids. There were around 2.9 thousand registrations of SUVs manufactured in Betim, MG, a number now not considered by ABVE, which counted 12.6 thousand electrified vehicles registered in January.
ABVE prefers to report that pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles represented 83% of the total, 10.4 thousand units, while HEV hybrids totaled 2.2 thousand (17%) — or less than the 2.9 thousand that Fiat achieved with Pulse and Fastback Bio Hybrid. ABVE also sold 1.1 thousand 48V MHEV vehicles.
