1 . A hybrid electric vehicle (混合动力车) or HEV is a vehicle driven by the combination of petrol engine and electric motor. Terrence has been driving a HEV for five years. He really doesn’t understand why more people aren’t accepting them. “I probably spend about $ 7 a day on petrol,” the taxi driver told news. com. au. In his previous conventional vehicle Terrence said he was spending up to $ 30 a day on petrol, meaning he saves almost $ 6000 every year.

The Toyota spokesman said this was quite a high saving and official tests estimate (估计) an average driver would only save about 33 percent off their current bill. This means a driver paying $ 30 a day on petrol would see their bill drop to about $ 20 using the hybrid. “A taxi driver that drives in built-up areas and spends little time on highways will notice a higher fuel saving,” he said. “Low speeds allow the electric motors to be used more and the petrol engine used less.”

While some people are skeptical about how reliable hybrids are, Terrence said he had never run out of power. His Camry cost about $ 34,000 and so after five years, it’s nearly paid for itself. “For cab drivers, it’s a real advantage because of the cost-effectiveness,” he said. Terrence has no complaints about the car. “I love it, the calm and quietness of it, the simplicity of it—you just jump in and go. The maintenance（保养）is really low. But the only difficulty is finding someone to service the car as there are not many experienced mechanics（机修工）.”

Terrence said it’s “extraordinary” that more drivers aren’t buying more hybrid electric vehicles and that governments are not encouraging this more. “I think people have a view that you have to plug it in, which is not true. A lack of information about the cars may be stopping people from taking the plunge. It’s not promoted at all for the public to understand—it’s simplifying the actual owning of a car—you don’t have to do so many things to own it and run it, it’s just so much simpler. Why wouldn’t the government promote such a thing?”