Hybrid Vehicles

Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) typically achieve greater fuel economy and lower emissions than conventional vehicles, since they rely on both gasoline (or diesel engine) and the electric motors for peak power needs.

HEVs are propelled primarily by an internal combustion engine, just like traditional vehicles, but HEVs also convert energy that is usually wasted during coasting and braking into electricity and store it in a battery for the engine’s electric motor. The electric motor assists the engine when accelerating, hill climbing and in low-speed driving conditions when internal combustion engines are least efficient. Some HEVs also turn off instead of idling, saving energy. Unlike all-electric vehicles, HEVs do not need to be plugged in.