Ultimately, if a gasoline engine were more efficient, it would cost less to drive 200 miles on a tank of gas, then to charge up your car to drive 200 miles. True, the batteries’ extremely high cost should be taken into consideration, IN PART, but a huge part of the cost of the batteries has to do with economies of scale. (Where Toyota’s CEO is bashing electric cars, I suspect, is that he doesn’t believe costs will collapse with improved economies of scale. In one respect, he’s correct: lithium will become/remain scarce. OTOH, as with so many resources, we will do more with less.)
To go 200 miles, you fill your tank one time and use only half of it.
A plugin would have to be charged 2 times if you believe the sales pitch nd 4 times if you live in the real world.
More in very cold climates.
The first reference I found on the net says $4.00 per charge and 5.5 hours if you can get to a 22v charger.
So 4 times $4.00 = $16.00 plus 22 hours on various chargers.
This all very well for a person who drives only as far as he really should take a walk.
My point being that there are other costs beyond the cost of electricity.
Interesting in that I read a report the other day, and I did not keep the link, that ran a survey of what owners who trade in hybrids purchase with the trade.
Very very few purchased another.