It’s been said that oil over 100 dollars per barrel is the single greatest problem of our time. From fostering food inflation to creating terrorist opportunities, expensive energy affects everyone on the planet. So it’s of no surprise that when an investor finds a company that offers up the exact remedy for such a huge problem, he gets easily excited.
Each day, China is putting 20,000+ gasoline or diesel fuel vehicles on the road. The demand for oil in all its forms, from kerosene (used in jet fuel) to gasoline, propane, and butane is breaking historical records on a daily basis. With that in mind, imagine a company that can provide a vehicle that takes oil out of the equation, and saves money doing it. This is exactly what Hybrid Technologies Inc. is doing. Hybrid, trading under the symbol HYBR, is a research and development company focused on and engaged in the development of electric-powered vehicles and other products. Hybrid uses proprietary lithium ion battery packs, and unique battery management modules, to convert vehicles from conventional gasoline and diesel fuel systems to electric power.
First let’s look at the demand side of the equation. Is there a demand for what they provide? Up until very recently, the answer has actually been no. When oil was 10 dollars a barrel ten years ago, and we weren’t in a global war against terror, cutting back on the use of oil was simply not an immediate issue. But the world has changed mightily in ten years and now oil is 115 dollars per barrel and gasoline in Europe is the equivalent of $9.00 per gallon. Here in the States, diesel is over $4.10 nationally and gasoline is hovering around $3.50.
In many ways, the prices are crippling the middle class, and they are clamoring for change. In a lot of families, choices are being made every day – choices such as “if we go out to dinner tonight, we can’t afford to fill the car this week”. In major cities around the world, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Rome and a hundred others, having an electrically powered vehicle that uses no oil, and runs for pennies per mile, makes perfect sense.
Why would the average person, living in “any City, USA” want an electric vehicle? The answer is simple. It will cut down on our nation’s oil hunger, cut down on a family’s expenses, and contribute to a healthier environment. It doesn’t get much better than that. So first let’s look at cost savings on the energy itself. If you have a car that’s getting a really good gas mileage of, say, 30 miles to the gallon, and gasoline is costing you $3.50 per gallon, your cost per mile is close to 12 cents per mile, just for energy. (Over in Europe, their cost per mile on the same vehicle is 31 cents per mile).
Now instead, let’s say you can drive an all-electric vehicle that utilizes a 35kWh battery pack, and can travel 120 miles on a single charge. If we use an off peak example of 10 cents per kilowatt hour, even a completely dead battery would be fully charged and ready to deliver for fewer than 4 cents per mile. That’s a significant savings, almost 70 percent at times.
On top of the energy savings, there is the maintenance savings on the vehicle itself. An electric vehicle has one tenth the parts of a combustion engine car, and this removes all the bothersome, high ticket repairs. With only one moving part in an electric motor, you no longer need oil, spark plugs, ignition systems, converter boxes, transmissions, differentials, exhaust systems, catalytic converters and a host of other high maintenance items that are sure to break at some point. The old adage that “less is more” is certainly true when it comes to the electric vehicle.
Hybrid Technologies has been working for years to bring the best batteries, along with the best battery management systems, to market, and their recent developments have been home runs. The world is energy starved and clamoring for the very product that Hybrid has developed. The demand is there, and the demand is growing during each and every uptick in the oil market. The demand is growing from those concerned about our environment and our impact on the climate. The demand is also there from people who adore the simplicity of a “solid state” car, with very few parts to break down. This is a global story, and Hybrid is positioned perfectly to capitalize on the demand and growth of this exciting industry.
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