It will be interesting to see how Fisker will address some of the problems with PHEVs.
Problems such as?
It is true when the battery is about empty you will limp along if you don't have a powerful enough ICE. That would be unacceptable in a performance oriented car.
No, it is not true. I thought I had already explained this. When the battery is "empty" it goes into charge-sustaining mode just like a conventional HEV. I suppose if the ICE was truly gutless you could make a PHEV that would "limp along", but I have no reason to suspect Tesla, or Fisker, or GM would produce a car like that. (I have a nagging suspicion that Aptera might. But I'm probably being unfair about that.)
I don't want to give everyone the impression that I've turned against BEVs or that I want Tesla to get into the PHEV business. I'm just saying lets stick to what we know, not things somebody dreamed up.
PHEV and BEVs both have disadvantages.
BEV: large and expensive battery, limited range, no fast recharge, limited charging locations
PHEV: much more complicated system, requires much more durable (expensive!) batteries, still burns gasoline sometimes (particularly if the owner forgets to plug it in when he should)
So. . . They both have disadvantages, but the PHEV disadvantages put none of their burden on the owner. It's up to the manufacturer to work the kinks out of that more complicated system, and come up with more durable batteries. And even if the owner forgets to charge it up, at least he can still drive.
By comparison, the limited range and recharging options of the BEV are something the owner has to work around, lest he find himself stranded somewhere.
Time will favor BEVs. Batteries will gain capacity and reduce in cost. Charging stations will be set up more widely. Also. . . PHEVs are attractive because they leverage existing ICE infrastructure, but as that infrastructure withers (which admittedly will take decades) their advantages will fade and turn into liabilities.
But right now the auto industry is in the early phase of a race to produce *EVs of whatever kind they can get on the road and get people to buy. They aren't trying to come up with the car of 2030 or 2040, they're trying to come up with something they can sell in 2010-2012. In that race the PHEV is a pretty attractive proposition -- especially for those like GM who are already heavily in the ICE business. Tesla not so much, but we'll see.