I don't have first-hand experience, but these guys have an EV repair shop for a while and do also hybrids, their articles always offer lots of insight.
Short run down:
- micro/mild hybrids are useless: batteries too small, engines too small to be the sole source of power, so contribution to emission reduction is very small, batteries tend to fail early because they're very small
- full hybrids have bigger batteries and engines large enough to run pure EV, but you still rely on ICE engine for everything, so there's no ability to charge at home or save on gas
- plug-in hybrids are full hybrids, but you can charge them externally; according to many studies the estimated emissions are much higher than declared, because people simply don't charge them at home and run on ICE the whole time
In all these types of hybrids the batteries are smaller than pure EVs, so they cycle faster and degrade faster. You're carrying two drivetrains all the time with added weight, one of which has plenty of maintenance items. So they're not drop-in replacements.
From what I've seen from EVClinic above, many manufacturers use custom pouch cells, not cylindrical modules like the more advanced pure EVs, so you can't repair an individual failed cell. That means full pack replacement. For many manufacturers you can't order replacement parts of the electric drivetrain, and if you do, they cost a huge chunk of the car.
So all in all if everything's well, you're good. If something goes wrong, be prepared to spend the same as you would spend for a battery replacement of a pure EV, or even more.
And the worst too: https://evclinic.eu/2025/09/27/if-you-drive-a-hybrid-may-god...
I don't have first-hand experience, but these guys have an EV repair shop for a while and do also hybrids, their articles always offer lots of insight.
Short run down:
- micro/mild hybrids are useless: batteries too small, engines too small to be the sole source of power, so contribution to emission reduction is very small, batteries tend to fail early because they're very small
- full hybrids have bigger batteries and engines large enough to run pure EV, but you still rely on ICE engine for everything, so there's no ability to charge at home or save on gas
- plug-in hybrids are full hybrids, but you can charge them externally; according to many studies the estimated emissions are much higher than declared, because people simply don't charge them at home and run on ICE the whole time
In all these types of hybrids the batteries are smaller than pure EVs, so they cycle faster and degrade faster. You're carrying two drivetrains all the time with added weight, one of which has plenty of maintenance items. So they're not drop-in replacements.
From what I've seen from EVClinic above, many manufacturers use custom pouch cells, not cylindrical modules like the more advanced pure EVs, so you can't repair an individual failed cell. That means full pack replacement. For many manufacturers you can't order replacement parts of the electric drivetrain, and if you do, they cost a huge chunk of the car.
So all in all if everything's well, you're good. If something goes wrong, be prepared to spend the same as you would spend for a battery replacement of a pure EV, or even more.