Low fuel use 5th gen DM-i hybrid technology from China's BYD promises to go the distance

True of buying any new car, buy used, maybe 5-10 years old and you'll save a fortune in depreciation and insurance vs anything new. True for electric and petrol cars

My used Leaf has a great driving experience. Snappier off the line than any petrol car I've driven, and so much quieter

I don't know about these new ones , but my old prous had a gear position for steep downhills, where the engine would run full bore, somehow creating resistance,  to prevent too much regenerative going into the battery. I would say the modern ones have things like sport and economy modes, which would effect the economy. 

The 2.9l/100km number is performed with the battery at 11% charge which is low enough that it runs in hybrid mode only 

Chinese Phase IV and Phase V vehicle fuel economy standards https://www.transportpolicy.net/standard/china-light-duty-fuel-consumpt…

I drove our 2021 Yaris from Masterton to Wellington, over the Remutaka hill, from an overall altitude of 124m to 240m (that makes a difference) and achieved 3.0 l/100km.  The Remutaka hill is a barrier as all the downhill is far too much regenerative ability for the battery to cope with, so roughly half of the potential energy is lost to heat in the brakes.

[First time post, so be gentle!]

as long as Taiwan doesn't pay for my mortgage, I don't see why we need to go meddle their business. 

You cannot move to a greener future without depending on China, unfortunately.

Chinese factories are running almost a global monopoly on supplying everything required for an industry, household and entire economy to electrify (copper wires, lithium batteries, power equipment (generation, transmission and distribution)).

While our youth protest for climate action on streets, theirs is learning the trade and engineering skills required to help China clip the ticket on a global move to electrification.

The US provoking a South China Sea war against its global geopolitical competitor in a vain attempt to prop up fading American global hegemony.

I believe these are the "moral principles" that you are speaking of.

Petrols not going anywhere fast, getting it won't be a problem for at least a decade! Petrol price I don't think you can predict, so that points a bit irrelevant.

For a moment I thought you were PDK

"problem for petrol ..."

You're assuming all future hybrids will use petrol engines. Probably a dangerous assumption. Many military vehicles can run on multiple fuels, including petrol, diesel, alcohol and cooking oil ... and blends thereof. (and there's hydrogen either as a combustible fuel or to produce electricity via a hydrogen fuel cell)

"rapid cycling of the small battery"

You're assuming all future hybrids will be the same as the current ones. Probably also a dangerous assumption. EVs are already available with range-extender engines. These engines are small, efficient (in comparison current ICE engines), and run at a constant speed mainly to re-charge the batteries but some will get you home should the electric engine / batteries fail completely.

While I agree with the premise behind what you say, I can honestly say that if the availability of petrol is removed or restricted in any meaningful way (as your example implies) then no owners of EV's would dare drive out of their garage and down the road as the 'great unwashed' would steal or destroy the vehicle in seconds.  Your roof top panels would be gone by that stage too.  I'm sorry but we're all tied into fossil fuels, until death do us part.

On a road trip, yes, but in everyday use plugging in at home is more convenient than going to a petrol station

As someone who's driveway currently has an EV, Petrol and Diesel in it. Plugging the EV into the garage once a week to charge overnight is by far the most convenient. 

When I bought my chev truck in from the US, it had 3 fuel tanks installed, apparently this was a common addition during the 1973 oil crisis. Anyway it had a 250l fuel capacity, only 100l now.