Hybrid Technology in Cars & Types of Hybrid Vehicles.

 Hybrid Technology in Cars & Types of Hybrid Vehicles.

 Hybrid Technology combines two or more technology with the aim to achieve efficient systems.

Its possible combination is of one electric engine (hybrid Vehicle Drive train) combination with a gasoline engine (ICE – Internal Combustion Engine) to move the car, & its system recaptures energy via regenerative breaking.

When Hybrid vehicles are cruising or while braking, the excess energy (kinetic Energy to Electric Energy) produced is used to charge the battery which in turns produces better fuel efficiency.

Most of the HEV’s (Hybrid Electric Vehicles) reduce idle emission by shutting the engine at idle position & restarts it when needed (Start-Stop System).

 

Types of Hybrid Vehicles

1.     Parallel Hybrid

It’s the most common Hybrid vehicle in which Combustion Engine is combine with a Electric Engine in a common transmission. It can be Automatic, Manual or a continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).

Power – Split CVT is a very popular Hybrid Transmission used by Toyota Prius & Chevrolet Volt.

Major brands including Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, Kia, Ford Honda, Nissan & Infiniti others uses Parallel Design. 

2.     Series Hybrid

These are the simplest Hybrid configuration in which the electric motor is the only source providing all the thrust to the wheels. It includes gasoline engine, computer controls, battery and generator.

The energy needed to drive the car is supplied in a series from gasoline engine to the electric motor. Batteries can be generated from regenerating braking system and from engine and the generator. It results in a smoother & powerful acceleration driving experience.

BMW i3 & Fisker Karma are the examples of Series Hybrid Automobile.

 

3.     Plug-In Hybrid

It contains a much larger Electric Pack which needs to be charged from an external electricity source. It allows for extending driving with significantly reduce fuel consumption.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) use batteries to power an electric motor and another fuel, such as gasoline, to power an internal combustion engine (ICE).

It typically runs on electric motor unless its battery is totally depleted & then the car automatically switches to ICE source.  

 

The first hybrid car was built in the year 1899 by engineer Ferdinand Porsche called the System Lohner-Porsche Mixte, it used a gasoline engine to supply power to an electric motor that drove the car's front wheels. The Mixte was well-received, and over 300 were produced.

 

The first mass-produced hybrid vehicle was the Toyota Prius, launched in Japan in 1997, and followed by the Honda Insight, launched in 1999 in the United States and Japan.