The Plug-In Hybrid Car Starts to Win over Buyers

Not at all surprising. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

PHEVs are optimal for many use cases: full-electric for most trips, but the ICE is there when it is the best fit (cold weather, long distance, towing, power outages, etc). The full electric range also helps offset of extra cost of the hybrid drive train, making the TCO more appealing for a marginal increase in total cost and yet the total cost is competitive with a BEV.

In some ways the push for BEVs has done the world a disservice and we could have had a much larger percentage of vehicle miles done on pure electric already if PHEVs had been pushed instead.