05.22.2009

What is a hybrid car?

Well, some may wonder what a hybrid car is. A hybrid car is a car which uses both the traditional combustion engine, as well as an electric motor to power the car. Using a hybrid car enables you to improve on fuel efficiency and cut down on the air pollution, making it more “environment-friendly” as compared to the normal conventional cars on the road.

The next question on the consumer’s mind will be how a hybrid car works. There are 3 components involved in a hybrid car, namely the combustion engine, an electric motor and a high-powered battery. There are 2 types of hybrid cars: the full hybrid/parallel system, and mild hybrid/series configuration.

A full hybrid/parallel car can integrate the 3 components so that it can use either the electric motor or the combustion engine to turn the transmission. Both the electric motor and the combustion engine are connected directly to the transmission. An example of a full hybrid/parallel car is the Toyota Camry.

However, for a mild hybrid/series car, the electric motor is not able to operate independently of the combustion engine. The combustion engine had to be used to charge the batteries in order to power the electric motor. An example of a mild hybrid/series car will be the Honda Civic.

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