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A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
(ICE) system with an
electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
propulsion system ( hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each function as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks (pickups and tractors), buses, boats and aircraft also exist. Modern HEVs make use of efficiency-improving technologies such as
regenerative brake Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism, the electric traction mo ...
s which convert the vehicle's
kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acc ...
to electric energy, which is stored in a
battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
or supercapacitor. Some varieties of HEV use an internal combustion engine to turn an
electrical generator In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power ( chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, g ...
, which either recharges the vehicle's batteries or directly powers its electric drive motors; this combination is known as a motor–generator. Many HEVs reduce idle emissions by shutting down the engine at idle and restarting it when needed; this is known as a start-stop system. A hybrid-electric produces lower tailpipe emissions than a comparably sized gasoline car since the hybrid's gasoline engine is usually smaller than that of a gasoline-powered vehicle. If the engine is not used to drive the car directly, it can be geared to run at maximum efficiency, further improving fuel economy.
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volksw ...
developed the
Lohner–Porsche The Lohner–Porsche Mixed Hybrid (sometimes incorrectly referred to as ''Löhner–Porsche'') was the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle. It was developed by Ferdinand Porsche at Lohner-Werke. The first prototypes were two-wheel drive, ...
in 1901. But hybrid electric vehicles did not become widely available until the release of the
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 1997, followed by the
Honda Insight The is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its ...
in 1999. Initially, hybrid seemed unnecessary due to the low cost of gasoline. Worldwide increases in the price of petroleum caused many automakers to release hybrids in the late 2000s; they are now perceived as a core segment of the automotive market of the future. , over 17 million hybrid electric vehicles have been sold worldwide since their inception in 1997. Japan has the world's largest hybrid electric vehicle fleet with 7.5 million hybrids registered . Japan also has the world's highest hybrid
market penetration Market penetration refers to the successful selling of a good or service in a specific market. It is measured by the amount of sales volume of an existing good or service compared to the total target market for that product or service. Market p ...
with hybrids representing 19.0% of all passenger cars on the road , both figures excluding kei cars. , the U.S. ranked second with cumulative sales of 5.8 million units since 1999, ''See Table 6.2: Hybrid and Plug-In Vehicle Sales, 1999-2020'' and, , Europe listed third with 3.0 million cars delivered since 2000. Global sales are led by the
Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
with more than 15 million
Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
and Toyota hybrids sold , followed by
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
with cumulative global sales of more than 1.35 million hybrids ; , worldwide hybrid sales are led by the Toyota Prius liftback, with cumulative sales of 5 million units. The Prius
nameplate A nameplate identifies and displays a person or product's name. Nameplates are usually shaped as rectangles but are also seen in other shapes, sometimes taking on the shape of someone's written name. Nameplates primarily serve an informat ...
had sold more than 6 million hybrids up to January 2017. Global Lexus hybrid sales achieved the 1 million unit milestone in March 2016. , the conventional Prius is the all-time best-selling hybrid car in both Japan and the U.S., with sales of over 1.8 million in Japan and 1.75 million in the U.S.


Classification


Types of powertrain

Hybrid electric vehicles can be classified according to the way in which power is supplied to the drivetrain: *In
parallel hybrid Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power. Hybrids come in many configurations. For example, a hybrid may receive its energy by burning gasoline, but sw ...
s, the ICE and the
electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
are both connected to the mechanical transmission and can simultaneously transmit power to drive the wheels, usually through a conventional transmission. Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system as found in the
Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intu ...
,
Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...
, Accord, as well as the GM Belted Alternator/Starter ( BAS Hybrid) system found in the
Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-dr ...
hybrids are examples of production parallel hybrids. The internal combustion engine of many parallel hybrids can also act as a generator for supplemental recharging. , commercialized parallel hybrids use a full size combustion engine with a single, small (<20 kW) electric motor and small battery pack as the electric motor is designed to supplement the main engine, not to be the sole source of motive power from launch. But after 2015 parallel hybrids with over 50 kW are available, enabling electric driving at moderate acceleration. Parallel hybrids are more efficient than comparable non-hybrid vehicles especially during urban stop-and-go conditions where the electric motor is permitted to contribute, and during highway operation. *In series hybrids, only the electric motor drives the drivetrain, and a smaller ICE (also called
range extender A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The ...
) works as a
generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...
to power the electric motor or to recharge the batteries. They also usually have a larger battery pack than parallel hybrids, making them more expensive. Once the batteries are low, the small combustion engine can generate power at its optimum settings at all times, making them more efficient in extensive city driving. * Power-split hybrids have the benefits of a combination of series and parallel characteristics. As a result, they are more efficient overall, because series hybrids tend to be more efficient at lower speeds and parallel tend to be more efficient at high speeds; however, the cost of power-split hybrid is higher than a pure parallel. Examples of power-split (referred to by some as "series-parallel") hybrid powertrains include 2007 models of
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
,
Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
,
Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
, and
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
. In each of the hybrids above it is common to use
regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism, the electric traction mo ...
to recharge the batteries.


Types by degree of hybridization


Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), also known as a plug-in hybrid, is a hybrid electric vehicle with
rechargeable batteries A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prima ...
that can be restored to full charge by connecting a plug to an external electric powersource. A PHEV shares the characteristics of both a conventional hybrid electric vehicle, having an
electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
and an
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
; and of an all-electric vehicle, also having a plug to connect to the electrical grid. PHEVs have a much larger all-electric range as compared to conventional gasoline-electric hybrids, and also eliminate the "
range anxiety Range anxiety is the driver's fear that a vehicle has insufficient energy storage (fuel and/or battery capacity) to cover the road distance needed to reach its intended destination, and would thus strand the vehicle's occupants mid-way. The term, ...
" associated with all-electric vehicles, because the combustion engine works as a backup when the batteries are depleted. pp. 30–32 ''See reviewed by
CalCars CalCars (also known as The California Cars Initiative) was a charitable, non-profit organization founded in 2002 to promote plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) as a key to addressing oil dependence and global warming both nationally and int ...
founder
Felix Kramer Felix Kramer (born April 29, 1949) is an entrepreneur, strategist and writer. After a succession of jobs and projects in the nonprofit sector and an early internet startup, he gained attention after 2002 as the founder of the California Cars Initi ...
(September 9, 2008
"T. Friedman's New Bestseller Hot, Flat & Crowded Touts Plug-Ins"
'


Flex-fuel hybrid

In December 2018, Toyota do Brasil announced the development of the world's first commercial hybrid electric car with flex-fuel engine capable of running with electricity and ethanol fuel or gasoline. The flexible fuel hybrid technology was developed in partnership with several Brazilian federal universities, and a prototype was tested for six months using a
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
as
development mule A development mule (test mule, or simply mule) in the automotive industry is a testbed vehicle equipped with prototype components requiring evaluation. They are often camouflaged to cover their designs. Application Mules are necessary because a ...
. Toyota announced plans to start series production of a flex hybrid electric car for the Brazilian market in the second half of 2019. The twelfth generation of the Corolla line-up was launched in Brazil in September 2019, which included an Altis trim with the first version of a flex-fuel hybrid powered by a 1.8-litre
Atkinson Atkinson may refer to: Places *Atkinson, Nova Scotia, Canada * Atkinson, Dominica, a village in Dominica *Atkinson, Illinois, U.S. * Atkinson, Indiana, U.S. *Atkinson, Maine, U.S. *Atkinson Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. *Atkinson, Nebraska, U. ...
engine. By February 2020, sales of the Corolla Altis flex-fuel hybrid represented almost 25% of all Corolla sales in the country.


Energy Management Systems

To take advantage of the emission reduction potential of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), appropriate design of their energy management systems (EMSs) to control the power flow between the engine and the battery is essential. In a conventional (non-hybrid) vehicle, there is no need for an energy management strategy: the driver decides the instant power delivery using the brake and accelerator pedals and, in manual transmission vehicles, decides which gear is engaged at any time. In a hybrid vehicle, on the other hand, there is an additional decision that must be taken due to its ability to recover energy during braking or driving downhill: how much power is delivered by each of the energy sources on-board of the vehicle. The recovered energy can be stored in the battery and deployed at a later time to assist the prime mover to provide tractive power. This is why all hybrid vehicles include an energy management controller, interposed between the driver and the component controllers. As mentioned, the aim of the energy management system is to determine the optimal power split between the on-board energy sources. The decision regarding what to consider optimal depends on the specific application: in most cases, the strategies tend to minimize the fuel consumption, but optimization objectives could also include the minimization of pollutant emissions, maximization of battery life or—in general—a compromise among all the above goals.


History


Early days

William H. Patton filed a patent application for a gasoline-electric hybrid rail-car propulsion system in early 1889, and for a similar hybrid boat propulsion system in mid 1889. He went on to test and market the Patton Motor Car, a gas-electric hybrid system used to drive tram cars and small
locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...
. A gasoline engine drove a generator that served to charge a
lead acid battery Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, le ...
in parallel with the traction motors. A conventional
series-parallel control A brushed DC electric motor is an internally Commutator (electric), commutated electric motor designed to be run from a direct current power source and utilizing an brush (electric), electric brush for electrical contact, contact. Brushed motors w ...
ler was used for the
traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles ( electric multiple ...
s. A prototype was built in 1889, an experimental tram car was run in
Pullman, Illinois Pullman, one of Chicago's 77 defined community areas, is a neighborhood located on the city's South Side. Twelve miles from the Chicago Loop, Pullman is situated adjacent to Lake Calumet. The area known as Pullman encompasses a much wider ...
, in 1891, and a production locomotive was sold to a street railway company in
Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,713. It is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. History Cedar Falls was first settled in March 1845 b ...
, in 1897. In 1896, the Armstrong Phaeton was developed by Harry E. Dey and built by the Armstrong Company of Bridgeport, CT for the Roger Mechanical Carriage Company. Though there were steam, electric, and internal combustion vehicles introduced in the early days, the Armstrong Phaeton was innovative with many firsts. Not only did it have a gasoline powered 6.5-liter, two-cylinder engine, but also a dynamo flywheel connected to an onboard battery. The dynamo and regenerative braking were used to charge the battery. Its electric starter was used 16 years before Cadillac's. The dynamo also provided ignition spark and powered the electric lamps. The Phaeton also had the first semi-automatic transmission (no manual clutch). The exhaust system was an integrated structural component of the vehicle. The Armstrong Phaeton's motor was too powerful; the torque damaged the carriage wheels repeatedly. In 1900, while employed at Lohner Coach Factory,
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volksw ...
developed the ''
Mixte A step-through frame (also known as open frame, drop frame, or low-step frame) is a type of bicycle frame, often used for utility bicycles, with a low or absent top tube or cross-bar. Traditionally, bicycles with a step-through frame were know ...
'', a 4WD series-hybrid version of "''System Lohner–Porsche''" electric carriage that previously appeared in 1900 Paris World Fair. George Fischer sold hybrid buses to England in 1901; Knight Neftal produced a racing hybrid in 1902. In 1905,
Henri Pieper Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...
of Germany/Belgium introduced a hybrid vehicle with an electric motor/generator, batteries, and a small gasoline engine. It used the electric motor to charge its batteries at cruise speed and used both motors to accelerate or climb a hill. The Pieper factory was taken over by
Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini created the ...
, after Pieper died.Victor Wouk, Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Scientific American, 1997-10, p70-74 The 1915 ''Dual Power'', made by the
Woods Motor Vehicle Woods Motor Vehicle Company was an American manufacturer of electric automobiles in Chicago, Illinois, between 1899 and 1916. In 1915 they produced the Dual Power (U.S. Patent # 1244045) with both electric and internal combustion engines which c ...
electric car maker, had a four-cylinder
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...
and an electric motor. Below the electric motor alone drove the vehicle, drawing power from a battery pack, and above this speed the "main" engine cut in to take the car up to its top speed. About 600 were made up to 1918. The Woods hybrid was a commercial failure, proving to be too slow for its price, and too difficult to service. In England, the prototype Lanchester petrol-electric car was made in 1927. It was not a success, but the vehicle is on display in
Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum Thinktank, Birmingham (formerly known as simply Thinktank) is a science museum in Birmingham, England. Opened in 2001, it is part of Birmingham Museums Trust and is located within the Millennium Point complex on Curzon Street, Digbeth. Hi ...
. The
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
's 1928 Experimental Motorized Force tested a gasoline-electric bus in a truck convoy. In 1931, Erich Gaichen invented and drove from Altenburg to Berlin a 1/2 horsepower electric car containing features later incorporated into hybrid cars. Its maximum speed was , but it was licensed by the Motor Transport Office, taxed by the German Revenue Department and patented by the German Reichs-Patent Amt. The car battery was re-charged by the motor when the car went downhill. Additional power to charge the battery was provided by a cylinder of compressed air which was re-charged by small air pumps activated by vibrations of the chassis and the brakes and by igniting oxyhydrogen gas. No production beyond the prototype was reported. During the Second World War, Ferdinand Porsche sought to use his firm's experience in hybrid drivetrain design for powering armored fighting vehicles for Nazi Germany. A series of designs, starting with the VK 3001 (P), the unsuccessful
VK 4501 (P) The VK 45.01 (P), also informally known as Tiger (P) or Porsche Tiger, was a gasoline-electric drive heavy tank prototype designed by Porsche in Germany. Losing to its Henschel competitor on trials, it was not selected for mass production and ...
heavy tank prototype (which became the ''
Elefant The ''Elefant'' (German for "elephant") was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Wehrmacht Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche, using VK 45.01 (P ...
'' tank destroyer) and concluding with the heaviest armored fighting vehicle ever prototyped, the Panzerkampfwagen ''Maus'' of nearly 190 tonnes in weight, were just two examples of a number of planned Wehrmacht "weapons systems" (including the highly-"electrified" subsystems on the Fw 191 bomber project), crippled in their development by the then-substandard supplies of electrical-grade copper, required for the electric final drives on Porsche's armored fighting vehicle powertrain designs.


Predecessors of present technology

The regenerative braking system, a core design concept of most modern production HEVs, was developed in 1967 for the
American Motors American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...
Amitron The AMC Amitron was an experimental electric subcompact car built in 1967 by American Motors Corporation (AMC) and Gulton Industries. It included many advanced features, including regenerative braking and advanced battery designs, to provide a ...
and called Energy Regeneration Brake by AMC. This completely
battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
powered urban
concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
was recharged by braking, thus increasing the range of the automobile. The AMC Amitron was first use of regenerative braking technology in the U.S. A more recent working prototype of the HEV was built by Victor Wouk (one of the scientists involved with the
Henney Kilowatt The Henney Kilowatt was an electric car introduced in the United States of America for the 1959 model year. The car used some body parts as made for the Renault Dauphine. An improved model was introduced in 1960 with a top speed of 60 miles an ho ...
, the first transistor-based electric car) and Dr. Charles L Rosen. Wouk's work with HEVs in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the title as the "Godfather of the Hybrid". They installed a prototype hybrid drivetrain (with a
electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
) into a 1972
Buick Skylark The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, during 46 years, over which the car's design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over t ...
provided by GM for the 1970 Federal Clean Car Incentive Program, but the program was stopped by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
(EPA) in 1976 while Eric Stork, the head of the EPA's vehicle emissions control program at the time, was accused of a prejudicial coverup. In 1979 the Fiat 131 Ibrido was presented in Detroit, a marching prototype made by the CRF (Fiat Research Center). The engine compartment was composed by the 903cc borrowed from the
Fiat 127 The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer FIAT from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacemen ...
, set to output 33 hp only and coupled to a 20 kW electric motor. The scheme proposed by Fiat is defined as "parallel hybrid": the petrol engine is connected to the differential with a 1:1 direct gear ratio, without gearbox, instead of the clutch there was an 8-inch torque converter followed by the transmission shaft on which the rotor of the electric motor is keyed, the latter powered by a 12-batteries pack. The regenerative brake concept was further developed in the early 1980s by David Arthurs, an electrical engineer, using off-the shelf components, military surplus, and an
Opel GT The Opel GT is a front-engine, rear-drive two-seat sports car manufactured and marketed by Opel in two generations — separated by a 34-year hiatus. The first generation Opel GT (1968 –1973) debuted as a styling exercise in 1965 at the Pa ...
. The
voltage controller A voltage controller, also called an AC voltage controller or AC regulator is an electronic module based on either thyristors, triodes for alternating current, silicon-controlled rectifiers or insulated-gate bipolar transistors, which converts a ...
to link the batteries, motor (a jet-engine starter motor), and DC
generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...
was Arthurs'. The vehicle exhibited fuel efficiency, and plans for it were marketed by
Mother Earth News ''Mother Earth News'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that has a circulation of 500,520 . It is published in Topeka, Kansas. Since its founding, ''Mother Earth News'' has promoted renewable energy, recycling, family farms, good agricultural ...
. In 1982, Fritz Karl Preikschat invented an electric propulsion and braking system for cars based on regenerative braking. While clearly not the only patent relating to the hybrid electric vehicle, the patent was important based on 120+ subsequent patents directly citing it. The patent was issued in the U.S. and the system was not prototyped or commercialized. In 1988,
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
built three prototypes of the
Alfa 33 The Alfa Romeo 33 (Type 905 and 907) is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo between 1983 and 1995. From a mechanical standpoint it was essentially an evolution of its predecessor, the Alfasud, whose floorpan, chassi ...
Hybrid, equipped with the tried and tested Alfasud
boxer engine A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, wh ...
(1,500cc, 95 HP) combined with a three-phase asynchronous electric motor (16 HP, 6.1 kgm of torque) supplied by Ansaldo of
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
. The design was realistic and already mass production-oriented, with minimal modifications to the standard body and a weight increase of only 150 kg (110 for the batteries, 20 for the electric engine and 10 for power electronics). The Alfa Romeo 33 Ibrida was able to travel up to 60 km/h in full electric mode, with a 5 km range, very good performance for the time. In 1989,
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
produced its first
iteration Iteration is the repetition of a process in order to generate a (possibly unbounded) sequence of outcomes. Each repetition of the process is a single iteration, and the outcome of each iteration is then the starting point of the next iteration. ...
of the Audi Duo (the Audi C3 100 Avant Duo) experimental vehicle, a plug-in parallel hybrid based on the
Audi 100 The Audi 100 and Audi 200 (and sometimes called Audi 5000 in North America) are primarily mid-size/executive cars manufactured and marketed by the Audi division of the Volkswagen Group. The car was made from 1968 to 1997 across four generations (C ...
Avant quattro. This car had a
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
which drove the rear roadwheels. A trunk-mounted
nickel–cadmium battery The nickel–cadmium battery (Ni–Cd battery or NiCad battery) is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. The abbreviation ''Ni-Cd'' is derived from the chemical symbols of nickel (Ni) and ...
supplied
energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...
to the motor that drove the rear wheels. The vehicle's front roadwheels were powered by a 2.3-litre five-cylinder
petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ' ...
with an output of . The intent was to produce a vehicle which could operate on the engine in the country, and electric mode in the city. Mode of operation could be selected by the driver. Just ten vehicles are believed to have been made; one drawback was that due to the extra weight of the electric drive, the vehicles were less efficient when running on their engines alone than standard Audi 100s with the same engine. Two years later, Audi, unveiled the second duo generation, the Audi 100 Duo – likewise based on the Audi 100 Avant quattro. Once again, this featured an electric motor, a three-phase machine, driving the rear roadwheels. This time, however, the rear wheels were additionally powered via the
Torsen Torsen Torque-Sensing (full name Torsen traction) is a type of limited-slip differential used in automobiles. It was invented by American Vernon Gleasman and manufactured by the Gleason Corporation. Torsen is a portmanteau of Torque-Sensing. ''TO ...
centre differential from the main engine compartment, which housed a 2.0-litre
four-cylinder engine The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...
. Research and Development was advancing in the 1990s with projects such as the early BMW 5 Series (E34) CVT hybrid-electric vehicle In 1992,
Volvo ECC The Volvo ECC (Environmental Concept Car) was an executive luxury concept car built by Volvo in 1992. It was a design exercise in using recycled material and hybrid technology. It was powered by a hybrid electric and gas turbine engine. Many of i ...
was developed by
Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
. The Volvo ECC was built on the
Volvo 850 The Volvo 850 is a compact executive car that was produced by the Swedish manufacturer Volvo Cars from 1991 until 1996. Designed by Jan Wilsgaard, the car was introduced in a saloon body style; an estate style was introduced in 1993. The Volv ...
platform. In contrast to most production hybrids, which use a gasoline piston engine to provide additional acceleration and to recharge the battery storage, the Volvo ECC used a gas turbine engine to drive the generator for recharging. The Clinton administration initiated the
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles was a co-operative research program between the US government and the three major domestic auto corporations that was aimed at bringing extremely fuel-efficient (up to vehicles to market by 2003. ...
(PNGV) program on 29 September 1993, that involved
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
,
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, USCAR, the DoE, and other various governmental agencies to engineer the next efficient and clean vehicle. The
United States National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrel ...
(USNRC) cited automakers' moves to produce HEVs as evidence that technologies developed under PNGV were being rapidly adopted on
production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...
s, as called for under Goal 2. Based on information received from automakers, NRC reviewers questioned whether the "Big Three" would be able to move from the concept phase to cost effective, pre-production
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
vehicles by 2004, as set out in Goal 3. The program was replaced by the hydrogen-focused
FreedomCAR The FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies (FCVT) was a national Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program developing more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly highway transportation technologies to enable the United States ...
initiative by the
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
administration in 2001, an initiative to fund research too risky for the private sector to engage in, with the long-term goal of developing effectively carbon emission- and petroleum-free vehicles. 1998 saw the Esparante GTR-Q9 became the first Petrol-Electric Hybrid to race at Le Mans, although the car failed to qualify for the main event. The car managed to finished second in class at Petit Le Mans the same year.


Modern hybrids

Automotive hybrid technology became widespread beginning in the late 1990s. The first
mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...
hybrid vehicle was the
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
, launched in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 1997, and followed by the
Honda Insight The is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its ...
, launched in 1999 in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and Japan. The Prius was launched in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and the rest of the world in 2000. The first-generation Prius sedan has an estimated fuel economy of in the city and in highway driving. The two-door first-generation Insight was estimated at in city driving and on the highway. The Toyota Prius sold 300 units in 1997 and 19,500 in 2000, and cumulative worldwide Prius sales reached the one million mark in April 2008. By early 2010, the Prius global cumulative sales were estimated at 1.6 million units. Toyota launched a second-generation Prius in 2004 and a third in 2009. The 2010 Prius has an estimated
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...
combined fuel economy cycle of . The Audi Duo III was introduced in 1997, based on the Audi B5 A4 Avant, and was the only Duo to ever make it into series production. The Duo III used the 1.9-
litre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3 ...
Turbocharged Direct Injection TDI (Turbocharged Direct Injection) is Volkswagen Group's term for its current common rail direct injection turbodiesel engine range that have an intercooler in addition to the turbo compressor. TDI engines are used in motor vehicles sold by th ...
(TDI)
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
, which was coupled with a electric motor. Due to low demand for it because of its high price, only about sixty Audi Duos were produced. Until the release of the Audi Q7 Hybrid in 2008, the Duo was the only
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an hybrid ever put into production. The
Honda Civic Hybrid The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Ac ...
was introduced in February 2002 as a 2003 model, based on the seventh-generation Civic. The 2003 Civic Hybrid appears identical to the non-hybrid version, but delivers , a 40 percent increase compared to a conventional Civic LX sedan. Along with the conventional Civic, it received a styling update for 2004. The redesigned 2004 Toyota Prius (second generation) improved passenger room, cargo area, and power output, while increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions. The Honda Insight first generation stopped being produced after 2006 and has a devoted base of owners. A second-generation Insight was launched in 2010. In 2004, Honda also released a 6-cylinder hybrid version of the Accord but discontinued it in 2007, citing disappointing sales, although production of a 4-cylinder hybrid began in 2012. The
Ford Escape Hybrid The Ford Escape is a compact crossover SUV sold by Ford since 2000 over four generations. The first generation was jointly developed with Mazda which also created the Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner as the twin model. Second generations of t ...
, the first hybrid electric
sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon defini ...
(SUV), was released in 2005. Toyota and Ford entered into a licensing agreement in March 2004 allowing Ford to use 20 patents from Toyota related to hybrid technology, although Ford's engine was independently designed and built. In exchange for the hybrid licenses, Ford licensed patents involving their European diesel engines to Toyota. Toyota announced calendar year 2005 hybrid electric versions of the
Toyota Highlander Hybrid The Toyota Highlander, also known as the , is a mid-size crossover SUV with three-row seating produced by Toyota since 2000. Announced in April 2000 at the New York International Auto Show and arriving in late 2000 in Japan and January 2001 in ...
and
Lexus RX 400h The is a luxury crossover SUV sold since 1998 by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota. Originally released in its home market of Japan in late 1997 as the Toyota Harrier, export sales began in March 1998 as the Lexus RX. Considered as the first ...
with 4WD-i, which uses a rear electric motor to power the rear wheels, negating the need for a transfer case. In 2006, General Motors Saturn Division began to market a mild
parallel hybrid Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power. Hybrids come in many configurations. For example, a hybrid may receive its energy by burning gasoline, but sw ...
, the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line, which utilized GM's Belted Alternator/Starter ( BAS Hybrid) system combined with a 2.4-litre L4 engine and an FWD automatic transmission. The same hybrid powertrain was also used to power the 2008 Saturn Aura Greenline and Malibu Hybrid models. , only the BAS-equipped Malibu is still in (limited) production. In 2007,
Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
released a hybrid electric version of their GS sport sedan, the
GS 450h The is an executive car sold by Lexus, the premium division of Toyota. The same car had been launched in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo in Japan. For non-Japanese markets, it was released as the Lexus GS in February 1993. It continued using the Toyo ...
, with a power output of 335 bhp. The 2007 Camry Hybrid became available in summer 2006 in the United States and Canada.
Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
launched the Altima Hybrid with technology licensed by Toyota in 2007. Commencing in fall 2007,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
began to market their 2008 Two-Mode Hybrid models of their
GMT900 The GMT900 was a General Motors full-size pickup and SUV platform used for the 2007 to 2014 model years. The platform was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, as the replacement for the GMT800 platform. The first GMT90 ...
-based Chevrolet Tahoe and
GMC Yukon GMC may refer to: Government India * Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat * Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu * Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh * Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam * Gwalior ...
SUVs, closely followed by the 2009
Cadillac Escalade Hybrid The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV engineered and manufactured by General Motors. It was Cadillac's first major entry into the SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year in response to competition from the Merc ...
version. For the 2009 model year, General Motors released the same technology in their half-ton pickup truck models, the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado and
GMC Sierra GMC Sierra (Classic) may refer to GMC counterparts, either as model names or as trim lines, to the following Chevrolet vehicles: * Chevrolet C/K * Chevrolet Silverado * Chevrolet Suburban {{Authority control Sierra Pickup trucks ...
Two-Mode Hybrid models. The
Ford Fusion Hybrid The Ford Fusion Hybrid is a gasoline-electric hybrid powered version of the mid-sized Ford Fusion sedan manufactured and marketed by Ford, now in its second generation. A plug-in hybrid version, the Ford Fusion Energi, was released in the U.S ...
officially debuted at the
Greater Los Angeles Auto Show The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in early December. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition. It is open to the public for ten days each year, filling of exhibit s ...
in November 2008, and was launched to the U.S. market in March 2009, together with the second-generation
Honda Insight The is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its ...
and the
Mercury Milan Hybrid The Ford Fusion Hybrid is a hybrid electric vehicle, gasoline-electric hybrid powered version of the mid-size car, mid-sized Ford Fusion (Americas), Ford Fusion sedan (automobile), sedan manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company, Ford, now i ...
.


Latest developments

;2009–2010 The
Hyundai Elantra LPI Hybrid The Hyundai Elantra, also known as the Hyundai Avante ( ko, 현대 아반떼), is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 1990. The Elantra was initially marketed as the ''Lantra'' in Australia and some European m ...
was unveiled at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show, and sales began in the
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n domestic market in July 2009. The Elantra LPI (Liquefied Petroleum Injected) is the world's first hybrid vehicle to be powered by an internal combustion engine built to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a fuel. The Elantra PLI is a mild hybrid and the first hybrid to adopt advanced
lithium polymer A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrol ...
(Li–Poly) batteries. The Elantra LPI Hybrid delivers a fuel economy rating of and CO2 emissions of 99 g/km to qualify as a
Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Super ultra-low emissions vehicle (SULEV) is a U.S. classification for passenger vehicle emissions. The classification is based on producing 90% fewer emissions than the average gasoline-powered vehicle. The SULEV standard is stricter than the stan ...
(SULEV). The Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid was unveiled in the 2009
Chicago Auto Show The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center. It is the largest auto show in North America. History Samuel Miles, formerly a promoter of bicycle shows, produced the first "official" Chic ...
, and sales began in the U.S. in October 2009. The S400 BlueHybrid is a mild hybrid and the first hybrid car to adopt a
lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also s ...
. The hybrid technology in the S400 was co-developed by
Daimler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactu ...
and BMW. The same hybrid technology is being used in the BMW ActiveHybrid 7, expected to go on sales in the U.S. and Europe by mid-2010. In December 2009 BMW began sales of its full hybrid BMW ActiveHybrid X6, while Daimler launched the Mercedes-Benz ML450 Hybrid by lease only. Sales of the
Honda CR-Z The Honda CR-Z is a sport compact hybrid electric automobile manufactured by Honda and marketed as a "sport hybrid coupe." The CR-Z combines a hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain with traditional sports car elements, including a 2+2 seating arra ...
began in Japan in February 2010, followed by the U.S. and European markets later in the year, becoming Honda's third hybrid electric car in the market. Honda also launched the 2011 Honda Fit Hybrid in Japan in October 2010, and unveiled the European version, the Honda Jazz Hybrid, at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, which went on sale in some European markets by early 2011.
Mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
of the 2011
Toyota Auris Hybrid The is a compact car derived from the Corolla, manufactured and sold by Toyota. Introduced in 2006, the first generation three/five-door hatchback shared the platform with the E150 series Corolla, while the second generation five-door hatch ...
began in May 2010 at Toyota Manufacturing UK (TMUK)
Burnaston Burnaston is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It is about southwest of the city of Derby and has a population of 1,531. It contains the headquarters and vehicle manufacturing plant of Toyota ...
plant and became the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle to be built in Europe. Sales in the UK began in July 2010, at a price starting at (), () less than the
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
. The 2011 Auris Hybrid shares the same
powertrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...
as the Prius, and combined fuel economy is . The 2011
Lincoln MKZ Hybrid The Lincoln MKZ, is a four-door, five-passenger mid-size luxury sedan manufactured by Ford and marketed as the Zephyr ( MY 2006) and as the MKZ (MY 2007–2020) by Ford's Lincoln brand across two generations in both gasoline and hybrid gas/electri ...
was unveiled at the 2010
New York International Auto Show The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show that is held in Manhattan in late March or early April. It is held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weekend and closes on the first S ...
and sales began in the U.S. in September 2010. The MKZ Hybrid is the first hybrid version ever to have the same price as the gasoline-engine version of the same car. The
Porsche Cayenne Hybrid The Porsche Cayenne is a series of mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicles manufactured by the German automaker Porsche since 2002 (Type 9PA or E1), with North American sales beginning in 2003. It is the first V8-engined vehicle built ...
was launched in the U.S. in late 2010. ;2011–2015
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
announced at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show the launch of the 2012 Touareg Hybrid, which went on sale on the U.S. in 2011. VW also announced plans to introduce
diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
-electric hybrid versions of its most popular models in 2012, beginning with the new Jetta, followed by the Golf Hybrid in 2013 together with hybrid versions of the Passat. Other gasoline-electric hybrids released in the U.S. in 2011 were the Lexus CT 200h, the
Infiniti M35 Hybrid The Infiniti M is a line of mid-size luxury (executive) cars from the Infiniti luxury division of Nissan. From 2013 (model year 2014) on it has been marketed as the Infiniti Q70, reflecting the company's new naming scheme. The first iteration was ...
, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and its sibling the Kia Optima Hybrid. The
Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 The Peugeot 3008 is a compact crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Peugeot. It was first presented to the public in Dubrovnik, Croatia in 2008, and then again in 2010 at the Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris, by the French manufacturer Peug ...
was launched in the European market in 2012, becoming the world's first
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
-electric hybrid. According to
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
the new hybrid delivers a fuel economy of up to and CO2 emissions of 99g/km on the European test cycle. The
Toyota Prius v The Toyota Prius ''v'' (for versatile), also named Prius α (pronounced as Alpha) in Japan, and Prius+ in Europe and Singapore, is a hybrid gasoline-electric automobile produced by Toyota introduced in Japan in May 2011, in the U.S. in October 2 ...
, launched in the U.S. in October 2011, is the first spinoff from the
Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, th ...
family. Sales in Japan began in May 2011 as the Prius Alpha. The European version, named Prius +, was launched in June 2012. The Prius Aqua was launched in Japan in December 2011, and was released as the
Toyota Prius c The Toyota Prius c (''c'' stands for "city"), named the (''" aqua"'' is Latin for water) in Japan, is a full hybrid gasoline-electric subcompact/supermini hatchback manufactured and marketed by Toyota. The Prius c is the third member of the P ...
in the U.S. in March 2012. The Prius c was launched in Australia in April 2012. The production version of the 2012
Toyota Yaris Hybrid The is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota from 1999 to 2019 in a three- or five-door hatchback body styles. The "Vitz" nameplate was used consistently in Japan, while most international markets received the ...
went on sale in Europe in June 2012. Other hybrids released in the U.S. during 2012 are the
Audi Q5 Hybrid The Audi Q5 is a series of Compact executive car, compact luxury crossover SUVs produced by the German luxury car manufacturer Audi from 2008. The original first-generation (''Typ 8R'') model was the third member of the ''B8'' family to be rel ...
,
BMW 5 Series ActiveHybrid The sixth generation of the BMW 5 Series consists of the BMW F10 (sedan version), BMW F11 (wagon version, marketed as ''Touring'') and BMW F07 (fastback version, marketed as ''Gran Turismo'') executive cars and were produced by BMW from Januar ...
, BMW 3 series Hybrid,
Ford C-Max Hybrid The Ford C-Max (stylized as Ford C-MAX and previously called the Ford Focus C-Max) is a car produced by the Ford Motor Company from 2003 to 2019. It has a five-door compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) design. The Ford Grand C-Max has a longer wh ...
,
Acura ILX Hybrid The Acura ILX is a subcompact executive car manufactured and marketed by Honda under the Acura brand, based on the ninth-generation Civic sedan. The ILX replaced the Canadian market exclusive Acura CSX. The ILX was Acura's first gasoline-elec ...
. Also during 2012 were released the next generation of
Toyota Camry Hybrid The Toyota Camry (XV50) is a mid-size car produced by Toyota from August 2011 to March 2019. Replacing the XV40 series, the XV50 represents the seventh generation of the Toyota Camry in all markets outside Japan, which follows a different gener ...
and the
Ford Fusion Hybrid The Ford Fusion Hybrid is a gasoline-electric hybrid powered version of the mid-sized Ford Fusion sedan manufactured and marketed by Ford, now in its second generation. A plug-in hybrid version, the Ford Fusion Energi, was released in the U.S ...
, both of which offer significantly improved fuel economy in comparison with their previous generations. The 2013 models of the
Toyota Avalon Hybrid The is a full-size sedan produced by Toyota. It is Toyota's largest front-wheel drive sedan and serves as its flagship vehicle in the United States, Canada, China and the Middle East. It was also produced in Australia from April 2000 until Ju ...
and the
Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid The Volkswagen Jetta (A6) is a compact car, the sixth generation of the Volkswagen Jetta and the successor to the Jetta (A5). Known as the NCS (New Compact Sedan) during its development, it was released in 2010 and was phased out since 2018 to ma ...
were released in the U.S. in December 2012. Global sales of the Toyota Prius liftback passed the 3 million milestone in June 2013. The Prius liftbak is available in almost 80 countries and regions, and it is the world's best-selling hybrid electric vehicle. Toyota released the hybrid versions of the Corolla Axio sedan and
Corolla Fielder The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...
station wagon in Japan in August 2013. Both cars are equipped with a 1.5-liter hybrid system similar to the one used in the Prius c. Sales of the Honda Vezel Hybrid
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
began in Japan began in December 2013. The Range Rover Hybrid diesel-powered electric hybrid was unveiled at the 2013
Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...
, and retail deliveries in Europe are slated to start in early 2014.
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
, the world's second largest manufacturer of hybrids after
Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, reached the milestone of 400,000 hybrid electric vehicles produced in November 2014. After 18 years since the introduction of hybrid cars, Japan became in 2014 the first country to reach sales of over 1 million hybrid cars in a single year, and also the Japanese market surpassed the United States as the world's largest hybrid market. ''For the first time annual Japanese domestic sales in 2014 exceeded 1 million thanks to it also being the first time that all eight major manufacturers offer hybrid vehicles in their lineup.'' The redesigned and more efficient fourth generation Prius was released for retail customers in Japan in December 2015. The 2016
model year The model year (sometimes abbreviated "MY") is a method of describing the version of a product which has been produced over multiple years. The model year may or may not be the same as the calendar year in which the product was manufactured. ...
Prius Eco surpassed the 2000 first generation Honda Insight as the all-time
EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
-rated most fuel efficient gasoline-powered car available in the U.S. without plug-in capability. ''The 2014–15 BMW i3 BEV is the most efficient EPA-certified vehicles considering all fuels and of all years. , the 2016 Toyota Prius Eco hybrid car is most efficient EPA-certified vehicle with a gasoline engine without plug-in capability.'' ''Excludes all-electric vehicles.'' In late 2017 Chevy introduced the Chevy ZH2 that runs on hydrogen fuel cells. The ZH2 was built especially for the U.S.


Sales and rankings

, more than 17 million hybrid electric vehicles have been sold worldwide since their inception in 1997. Japan ranks as the market leader with more than 7.5 million hybrids sold , followed by the United States with cumulative sales of 5.4 million units through 2019 while 3.0 million hybrid cars had been sold in Europe by July 2020. Hybrid sales in the rest of the world totaled over 500,000 units by April 2016. , more than 130,000 hybrids have been sold in Canada, of which, over 100,000 are Toyota and Lexus models. In Australia, over 50,000 Lexus and Toyota models have been sold through February 2014. , global hybrid sales led by
Toyota Motor Company is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
(TMC) with over 15 million
Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
and Toyota hybrids sold; followed by
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
with cumulative global sales of more than 1.35 million hybrids ; ''Honda sold 187,851 hybrids in 2013''. ''Honda sold 158,696 hybrids during the first six months of 2014''. Ford Motor Corporation with over 424,000 hybrids sold in the United States through June 2015, of which, around 10% are
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
s; ''By June 2012 Ford had sold 200,000 full hybrids in the US since 2004.'' Hyundai Group with cumulative global sales of 200,000 hybrids , including both
Hyundai Motors Hyundai Motor Company, often abbreviated to Hyundai Motors ( ) and commonly known as Hyundai (, ; ), is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and founded in 1967. Currently, the company o ...
and
Kia Motors Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
hybrid models; and
PSA Peugeot Citroën The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
with over 50,000 diesel-powered hybrids sold in Europe through December 2013. TMC experienced record sales of hybrid cars during 2013, with 1,279,400 units sold worldwide, and it took nine months to achieve one million hybrid sales. Again in 2014, TMC sold a record one million hybrids in nine months. Toyota hybrids combined with Lexus models reached 1 million units in May 2007, and the U.S. reached the 1 million mark of sales of both brands by February 2009. Worldwide sales of TMC hybrids totaled over 2 million vehicles by August 2009, 3 million units by February 2011, 5 million in March 2013, ''The breakdown by model is missing the Toyota Aqua, which is a rebadge version of the Prius c''. 7 million in September 2014, and the 8 million mark in July 2015. The 9 million sales mark was reached in April 2016, again, selling one million hybrids in just ninth months, and the 10 million milestone in January 2017, achieved one more time just nine months after the previous million. TMC achieved the 15 million sales milestone in January 2020. Ford experienced record sales of its hybrids models in the U.S. during 2013, with almost 80,000 units sold, almost triple the 2012 total. During the second quarter of 2013 Ford achieved its best hybrid sales quarter ever, up 517% over the same quarter of 2012. In 2013 Toyota's hybrid market share in the U.S. declined from 2012 totals due to new competition, particularly from Ford with the arrival of new products such as the C-Max Hybrid and the new styling of the Fusion. Except for the Prius c, sales of the other models of the Prius family and the Camry Hybrid suffered a decline from 2012, while the Fusion Hybrid experienced a 164.3% increase from 2012, and C-Max Hybrid sales climbed 156.6%. During 2013 Ford increased its market share of the American hybrid market from 7.5% in 2012 to 14.7% in 2013. , global hybrid sales are led by the
Prius family The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, th ...
, with cumulative sales of 6.0361 million units (excluding plug-in hybrids) representing 60% of the 10 million hybrids sold worldwide by Toyota and Lexus since 1997. , the
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
liftback is the leading model of the Toyota brand with cumulative sales of 3.985 million units. Ranking second is the Toyota Aqua/Prius c, with global sales of 1.380 million units, followed by the Prius v/α/+ with 671,200, the Camry Hybrid with 614,700 units, the
Toyota Auris The is a compact car derived from the Corolla, manufactured and sold by Toyota. Introduced in 2006, the first generation three/five-door hatchback shared the platform with the E150 series Corolla, while the second generation five-door hatchba ...
with 378,000 units, and the
Toyota Yaris Hybrid The is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota from 1999 to 2019 in a three- or five-door hatchback body styles. The "Vitz" nameplate was used consistently in Japan, while most international markets received the ...
with 302,700. U.S. sales of the Toyota Prius reached the 1.0 million milestone in early April 2011, and cumulative sales of the Prius in Japan exceeded the 1 million mark in August 2011. , sales of the Prius liftback totaled over 1.8 million units in Japan and 1.75 million in the United States, ranking as the all-time best-selling hybrid car in both countries. Global sales of Lexus brand hybrid vehicles worldwide reached the 500,000 mark in November 2012. The 1 million sales milestone was achieved in March 2016. The Lexus RX 400h/RX 450h ranks as the top-selling Lexus hybrid with 363,000 units delivered worldwide , followed by the Lexus CT 200h with 290,800 units, and the Lexus ES 300h with 143,200 units.


Annual sales in top markets


Japanese market

Japan has the largest hybrid electric vehicle fleet in the world, , a total of 7.51 million hybrids registered in the country, excluding kei cars. By 20106 it represented around 45% of cumulative global hybrid sales since their inception in 1997. After 18 years since their introduction in the Japanese market, annual hybrid sales surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time in 2014. With cumulative sales of over 4 million hybrids through December 2014, Japan surpassed the United States as the world's largest hybrid market. ''Over 1 million hybrid electric cars were sold in Japan in 2014. Side graph shows cumulative sales since 2010 of more than 4 million hybrids in the country.'' It was also the first time that all eight major Japanese manufacturers offered hybrid vehicles in their lineup. Japan also has the world's highest hybrid
market penetration Market penetration refers to the successful selling of a good or service in a specific market. It is measured by the amount of sales volume of an existing good or service compared to the total target market for that product or service. Market p ...
, , hybrids represented 19.0% of all passenger cars on the road. The hybrid market share of new car sales began to increase significantly in 2009, when the government implemented aggressive fiscal incentives for fuel efficient vehicles and the third generation Prius was introduced. That year, the hybrid market share of new car sales in the country, including kei cars, jumped from less than 5% in 2008 to over 10% in 2009. If only conventional passenger cars are accounted for, the hybrid market share was about 15%. By 2013 the hybrid market share accounted for more than 30% of the 2.9 million standard passenger vehicles sold, and about 20% of the 4.5 million passenger vehicles including kei cars. Sales of standard cars in 2016 totaled 1.49 million units, with the hybrid segment achieving a record 38% market share. Accounting for kei cars, hybrids achieved a market share of 25.7% of new passenger car sales, up from 22.3% in 2015. In 2016 every one of the standard cars listed in the Japanese top-20 best-selling car ranking had a hybrid version on sale. and the two top-selling standard cars were models available only as a hybrid, the Toyota Prius and the Toyota Aqua.
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
's hybrid sales in Japan since 1997, including both Toyota and Lexus models, passed the 1 million mark in July 2010, 2 million in October 2012, and topped the 3 million mark in March 2014. , TMC hybrid sales in the country totaled 4,853,000 vehicles, of which, only 4,900 units are commercial vehicles. ''Download the pdf file with sales by year for each model. Source for 2016 sales only. January 2017 sales were discounted from total.'' Cumulative sales of the original Prius in Japan reached the 1 million mark in August 2011. Sales of the
Prius family The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, th ...
vehicles totaled 3,435,800 units through January 2017. The Prius liftback is the top-selling model with 1,812,800 units, followed by the Aqua with 1,154,500 units, the Prius α with 446,400, and the Prius plug-in with 22,100. Cumulative sales of
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
's hybrid vehicles since November 1999 reached 25,239 units by January 2009, ''A total of 25,239 Honda hybrids sold in Japan and 35,149 sold in Europe until January 2009'' and in March 2010, Honda announced that the new 2010
Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intu ...
broke through 100,000 sales in Japan in just one year after its introduction. Hybrid sales in Japan almost tripled in 2009 as compared to 2008 as a result of government incentives that included a
scrappage program A scrappage program is a government budget programme to promote the replacement of old vehicles with modern vehicles. Scrappage programmes generally have the dual aim of stimulating the automobile industry and removing inefficient, more polluting v ...
,
tax breaks Tax break also known as tax preferences, tax concession, and tax relief, are a method of reduction to the tax liability of taxpayers. Government usually applies them to stimulate the economy and increase the solvency of the population. By this fi ...
on hybrid vehicles and other low-emission cars and trucks, and a higher levy on gasoline that rose prices in the order of US$4.50. New hybrid car sales jumped from 94,259 in 2008 to 334,000 in 2009, and hybrid sales in 2009 represented around 10% of new vehicles sales in Japan. In contrast, the U.S. market share was 2.8% for the same year. These record sales allowed Japan to surpass the U.S. in total new hybrid sales, with the Japanese market representing almost half (48%) of the worldwide hybrid sales in 2009 while the U.S. market represented 42% of global sales. The
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
became the first hybrid to top annual new car sales in Japan with 208,876 units sold in 2009. The Insight ranked fifth in overall sales in 2009 with 93,283 units sold. A total of 315,669 Priuses were sold domestically in 2010, making the Prius the country's best-selling vehicle for the second straight year. Also the Prius broke Japan's annual sales record for a single model for the first time in 20 years, surpassing the Toyota Corolla, which in 1990 set the previous sales record with 300,008 units. The Prius sold 252,528 units in 2011, becoming the best-selling vehicle for the third-consecutive year. This figure includes sales of the Prius α, launched in May 2011, and the
Toyota Aqua The is a full hybrid electric subcompact/supermini hatchback (B-segment) manufactured and marketed by Toyota since 2011. The nameplate is exclusive to the Japanese domestic market, as the vehicle was exported to overseas markets as the Prius ...
, launched in December. Despite keeping to the top-selling spot, total Prius sales for 2011 were 20% lower than 2010 due partly to the disruptions caused by the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and also because government incentives for hybrid cars were scaled back. Nevertheless, during the 2011
Japanese fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
(April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012), hybrid vehicles accounted for 16% of all new car sales in the country. In May 2012, hybrid sales reached a record market share of 19.7% of new car sales in the country, including kei cars. Sales were led by the conventional Prius followed by the Toyota Aqua. Also during this month, hybrid sales represented 25% of Honda sales and 46% of Toyota sales in the country. The
Toyota Aqua The is a full hybrid electric subcompact/supermini hatchback (B-segment) manufactured and marketed by Toyota since 2011. The nameplate is exclusive to the Japanese domestic market, as the vehicle was exported to overseas markets as the Prius ...
, released in December 2011, ranked as the second top-selling new car in Japan in 2012 after the conventional Prius. Totaling 262,367 units sold in 2013, the Aqua topped new car sales in Japan in 2013, including kei car sales. And with 233,209 units sold during 2014, down 11.1% from 2013, the Aqua was the top-selling new car in Japan for the second consecutive year. Again in 2015, with 215,525 units sold, down 7.6% from 2014, the Aqua ranked as the top-selling new car in Japan. The Toyota Aqua not only was the best-selling new car in Japan for three years running, from 2013 to 2015, but it is considered the most successful nameplate launch in the Japanese market of the last 20 years. In the first quarter of 2016, the Prius liftback surpassed the Aqua as the best-selling new car, the Prius ended 2016 as the best-selling standard car in the Japanese market with 248,258 units, followed by the Aqua with 168,208 units.


American market

The market of
hybrid electric vehicles in the United States The fleet of hybrid electric vehicles in the United States, with 5.8 million units sold through December 2020, is the second largest in the world after Japan (7.51 million by March 2018). American sales of hybrid electric vehicles rep ...
is the second largest in the world after Japan with cumulative sales of 5.4 million units through December 2019. The 3 million mark was achieved in October 2013, and 4 million in April 2016. Sales of hybrid vehicles in the U.S. began to decline following the
financial crisis of 2007–08 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...
, and after a short recovery, began to decline again in 2014 due to low gasoline prices, and had a small rebound in 2019. Hybrid sales in the American market achieved its highest market share ever in 2013, capturing 3.19% of new carsales that year. At the end of 2015 the hybrid take rate had fallen to 2.21%, dropped to 1.99% in 2016, slightly recovered to 2.4% in 2019. Since their inception in 1999, a total of 5,374,000 hybrid electric automobiles and
sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon defini ...
s have been sold in the country through December 2019. The
Toyota Prius family The is a car built by Toyota which has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan, it has been produced only as ...
is the market leader with 1,932,805 units sold through April 2016, representing a 48.0% market share of total hybrid sales. ''During the first fourth months of 2016 hybrid sales totaled 103,082 units in the U.S.'' The conventional
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
is the top-selling hybrid model, with 1,643,000 units sold through April 2016, accounting for 40.8% of all hybrids sold in the U.S. since inception. The United States accounted for 44.7% of
Toyota Motor Company is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
global hybrid sales through April 2016.


European market

, more than 3.0 million hybrids cars have been sold in Europe since their introduction.
PSA Peugeot Citroën The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
had sold over 50,000 diesel-powered hybrids in Europe through December 2013, and Toyota and Lexus hybrids totaled 3.0 million units by July 2020. In 2014, one-fourth of all new vehicles sold by Toyota in the European Union were hybrid-electric. The top-selling hybrid markets in 2015 were France, followed by the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Norway. , hybrid vehicles accounted for 1.4% of new passenger car registrations in the EU Member States, up from 1.1% in 2012. ''See Figure 1.3, pp 6. See also tables in pp. 88–110 for HEV market by country from 2001 to 2012.'' The Netherlands is the leading country within the Union states with a market share of 3.7% of total passenger car sales in 2014, though fewer hybrid vehicles were sold in the Dutch market in 2014 than in previous years. Accounting for all countries in the continent, Norway is the segment leader, with a market share of 6.9% in 2014. ''See Figure 4-2 and 4–6, pp 41–44. See also tables in pp. 81–107 for HEV market by country from 2001 to 2014.'' Sales of hybrids in Europe went up from around 9,000 units in 2004 to 39,880 in 2006, with Toyota accounting for 91% of hybrid sales and Honda with 3,410 units sold that year. Cumulative sales of Toyota hybrids since 2000 reached 69,674 units in 2006, while Honda hybrid sales reached over 8,000 units. By January 2009, Honda had sold 35,149 hybrids in Europe, of which 34,757 were
Honda Civic Hybrid The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Ac ...
s. During 2008 combined sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrids in Europe were 57,819 units, representing 5.2% of total Toyota sales in the region. Toyota sales were led by Prius with 41,495 units. Cumulative sales of the Toyota Prius reached 100,000 units in 2008 and the 200,000 mark was reached in July 2010. The UK has been one of the leading European markets for the Prius since its inception, with 20% of Prius sales in Europe by 2010. Toyota's European hybrid sales reached 70,529 vehicles in 2010, including sales of 15,237
Toyota Auris Hybrid The is a compact car derived from the Corolla, manufactured and sold by Toyota. Introduced in 2006, the first generation three/five-door hatchback shared the platform with the E150 series Corolla, while the second generation five-door hatch ...
s. Sales reached 84,839 units in 2011, including 59,161 Toyota and 25,678 Lexus hybrid vehicles. The Auris hybrid sold 32,725 units in 2011. Lexus hybrids made up 85% of total sales in Western Europe in 2011. Toyota and Lexus hybrids represented 10% percent of Toyota's European new car sales in 2011. TMC share of hybrid sales out of the company's total European sales climbed from 13% in 2012 to 20% during the first 11 months of 2013. During the first nine months of 2013, over 118,000 hybrids were sold in
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
representing a 1.4% market share of new car sales in the region. A total of 192,664 hybrid cars were sold in the European Union and
EFTA The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European U ...
countries in 2014. Sales increased 21.5% in 2015, with 234,170 units sold. In 2015, gasoline-powered hybrids represented 91.6% of total hybrid registrations. The top-selling model in 2015 was the Toyota Auris Hybrid, with 75,810 units, up 13.0% from 2014; followed by the Yaris Hybrid with 68,902 units, up 22% from 2014. Seven of the top ten hybrids models sold in 2015 were from either Toyota or the Lexus brand. ''
Plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
sales are not included.''
Toyota achieved record hybrid sales in 2015 with 201,500 units delivered. Hybrid registrations in the European Union and EFTA countries totaled 74,796 units during the first quarter of 2016, up 29.7% from the same quarter the previous year. Cumulative TMC sales since the Prius introduction in Europe in 2000 passed the one million unit milestone in November 2015. , the top-selling Toyota hybrids were the Auris Hybrid (427,600), the Yaris Hybrid (388,900), and the conventional Prius (299,100). The top-selling Lexus models are the Lexus RX 400h/RX 450h with 111,100 units, and the Lexus CT 200h with 78,100 units. European sales of TMC hybrids totaled 3 million cars in July 2020. ;UK Since 2006 hybrid car registrations in the UK totaled 257,404 units up to April 2016, including 11,679 diesel-electric hybrids, which were introduced in 2011. The market share of the British hybrid segment climbed from 1.1% in 2010, to 1.2% in 2012, and achieved 1.5% of new car registrations in 2014. Since 2000, when the Prius was launched in the UK, 100,000 Toyota hybrids had been sold by May 2014, and almost 50,000 Lexus models since the introduction of the RX 400h in 2005. Honda had sold in the UK more than 22,000 hybrid cars through December 2011 since the Insight was launched in the country in 2000. After 15 years since the launch of the Prius in the British market, combined sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrids reached the 200,000 unit milestone in November 2015. A total of 37,215 hybrids were registered in 2014, and while petrol-electric hybrids increased 32.6% from 2013, diesel-electric hybrids declined 12.6%. Hybrid registrations totaled a record of 44,580 units in 2015, consisting of 40,707 petrol-powered hybrids and 3,873 powered by diesel; the latter experienced a 36.3% increase from 2014, while petrol-powered hybrid grew by 18.1%. The hybrid segment market shared reached 1.69% of new car registrations in the UK that year. ;France A total of 165,915 hybrid cars have been registered in France between 2007 and 2014, ''A total of 33,295 gasoline-electric and 9,518 diesel-electric hybrids were sold in France in 2014.'' including 33,547 diesel-powered hybrids. French registrations account
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
together with conventional hybrids. Among EU Member States, France had the second largest hybrid market share in 2014, with 2.3% of new car sales, down from 2.6% in 2013. Diesel hybrid technology, introduced by
PSA Peugeot Citroën The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
with the HYbrid4 system in 2011, represented 20.2% of the hybrid car stock sold in France between 2011 and 2014. Among the 13,340 units registered in 2011, the top-selling models in the French market were the Toyota Auris (4,740 units), the Prius (2,429 units), and the
Honda Jazz Hybrid The Honda Fit ( Japanese: ホンダ・フィット, Hepburn: ''Honda Fitto'') or Honda Jazz is a small car manufactured and marketed by Honda since 2001 and now in its fourth generation. It has a five-door hatchback body style and is considered ...
(1,857 units). The diesel-powered
Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 The Peugeot 3008 is a compact crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Peugeot. It was first presented to the public in Dubrovnik, Croatia in 2008, and then again in 2010 at the Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris, by the French manufacturer Peug ...
, launched in late 2011, sold 401 units. Toyota led hybrid sales in the French market in 2013 with 27,536 registrations of its Yaris, Auris and Prius models, followed by the PSA group with 13,400 registrations. During 2014, a total of 42,813 hybrid cars and vans were registered, down 8.5% from 2013. Of these, 9,518 were diesel-electric hybrids, down 31.9% from 13,986 units a year earlier, while registrations of gasoline-electric hybrids were up 1.5%. The top-selling models in 2014 were the
Toyota Yaris Hybrid The is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota from 1999 to 2019 in a three- or five-door hatchback body styles. The "Vitz" nameplate was used consistently in Japan, while most international markets received the ...
with 12,819 units,
Toyota Auris The is a compact car derived from the Corolla, manufactured and sold by Toyota. Introduced in 2006, the first generation three/five-door hatchback shared the platform with the E150 series Corolla, while the second generation five-door hatchba ...
with 10,595 and the Peugeot 3008 with 4,189 units. Hybrid registrations in 2014 included 1,519
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
s, with sales led by the
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV The is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. It was originally known as the when it was introduced in Japan in 2001. The original Airtrek name was chosen to "describe the vehicle's ability to transpo ...
, with 820 units. ;The Netherlands , hybrid car registrations totaled 131,011 units, up 11.7% from 117,259 a year earlier. By the end of 2009 there were about 39,300 hybrid cars registered in the Netherlands, up from 23,000 the previous year. Most of the registered hybrid cars belonged to corporate fleets due to tax incentives established in the country in 2008. During the first eight months of 2013, around 65% of TMC cars sold in the Netherlands have been hybrids, with the technology particularly popular among fleet owners and taxi drivers. Following the same market trend as in 2014, more
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
s were registered in 2015 (41,226) in the country than conventional hybrids (13,752). As a result of the tax incentives, the country has had for several years the highest hybrid market share among EU Member States. Hybrid sales climbed from 0.7% in 2006 and 2007 to 2.4% in 2008, and reached 4.2% in 2009. Due to the
financial crisis of 2007–08 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...
, the market fell for two years to 2.7% in 2011, but recovered to 4.5% in 2012. As fewer hybrid vehicles were sold in the Dutch market in 2014 than in previous years, the hybrid segment market share fell to 3.7% of total passenger car sales in 2014. The sales decline is due to a change in the national vehicle taxation scheme. , Japan (~20%) and Norway (6.9%) are the only countries with a higher market share than the Netherlands. ;Germany , there where were 130,365 hybrid cars registered in Germany, ''A total of 130,365 hybrid vehicles were registered in Germany on January 1, 2016.'' up from 85,575 on the roads on January 1, 2014, ''A total of 85,575 hybrid vehicles were registered in Germany on January 1, 2014.'' and 47,642 vehicles on January 1, 2012. Hybrid car registrations totaled a record of 24,963 units in 2013, and declined to 22,908 in 2014, and to 22,529 in 2015. The German hybrid market share climbed from 0.3% in 2010, to 0.8% in 2013, and declined 0.7% of new car registrations in 2014. ;Spain A total of 10,350 hybrid cars were registered in Spain in 2011, up 22% from 2010 sales. The top-selling hybrids were the Toyota Prius, Toyota Auris HSD and the Lexus CT 200h, which together represented 83,2% of new hybrid car sales in the country. During 2012 hybrid sales remained almost constant with 10,030 units sold, representing 1.44% of new passenger cars sales that year. The top-selling car was the Prius with 3,969 units, followed by the Auris HSD (2,234) and the Lexus CT 200h (1,244). Combined sales of Toyota and Lexus models represented 89.15% of hybrid sales in the Spanish market in 2012. ''Toyota Prius sales include the Prius + and the plug-in version. Hybrid sales also include 2 BYD F3DMs.'' Hybrid sales in 2013 increased 1.72% from 2012, with 10,294 units registered. The Toyota Auris HSD was the top-selling hybrid with 3,644 units, followed by the Prius (2,378) and the Yaris Hybrid (1,587 ). ;Republic of Ireland As of February 2020, Hybrid cars as a proportion of all cars for sale in Ireland was very small, which could be seen in a snapshot (7 February 2020) of four car sales websites (Autotrader.ie, Carsireland.ie, Carzone.ie, and Donedeal.ie) that showed that out of circa 38,000 to 70,000 cars listed for sale, only circa 3.7% to 4.7% were Hybrids (including a small proportion of electric plug-in hybrids (PHEV)), so in real terms only 1,844-2,640 hybrid cars were advertised for sale in the market. This very low level of Hybrids compared poorly to the circa 25,338 to 46,940 diesel engine cars available for sale on the same date, representing a much larger, circa 64-67% of the market at that time. The Irish Government (to January 2020) had stated an aim to ban the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid new ('non-electric') cars from 2030 (compared to the proposed EU ban by 2040, and the UK's proposed ban on the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars from 2035 as announced in the first week of February, 2020), though car dealers were reported to consider the Irish Government's target for one million electric and plug-in hybrid cars to be in use by 2030, as far too ambitious (''The Irish Times'', 07/02/2020). A compromise in terms of transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs), and a non-electric car ban implementation around 2030, maybe for acceptance of Hybrid cars with modest size petrol engines (regardless of whether 'Full' or 'Mild' hybrids), for example those at/ less than 1.6Litre (1600cc) engine capacity, and/ or at circa 100g/km , or less in terms of emissions, or a fuel efficiency rating (L/100 km) for Highway/Extra Urban and 'Combined' journeys.


Technology

The varieties of hybrid electric designs can be differentiated by the structure of the hybrid vehicle drivetrain, the fuel type, and the mode of operation. In 2007, several automobile manufacturers announced that future vehicles will use aspects of hybrid electric technology to reduce fuel consumption without the use of the hybrid drivetrain. Regenerative braking can be used to recapture energy and stored to power electrical accessories, such as air conditioning. Shutting down the engine at idle can also be used to reduce fuel consumption and reduce emissions without the addition of a hybrid drivetrain. In both cases, some of the advantages of hybrid electric technology are gained while additional cost and weight may be limited to the addition of larger batteries and starter motors. There is no standard terminology for such vehicles, although they may be termed mild hybrids.


Engines and fuel sources


Gasoline

Gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...
s are used in most hybrid electric designs and will likely remain dominant for the foreseeable future. While
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
-derived gasoline is the primary fuel, it is possible to mix in varying levels of ethanol created from
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
sources. Like most modern
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...
powered vehicles, HEVs can typically use up to about 15%
bioethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a hyd ...
. Manufacturers may move to
flexible fuel engine A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (colloquially called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol fu ...
s, which would increase allowable ratios, but no plans are in place at present.


Diesel

The most prominent example of a full hybrid diesel system is the HYbrid4 by PSA Peugeot-Citroën. It was discontinued in 2016, following the decline in diesel popularity following the VW
Dieselgate The Volkswagen emissions scandal, sometimes known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Vol ...
scandal. Diesel-electric HEVs use a
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
for power generation. Diesels have advantages when delivering constant power for long periods of time, suffering less wear while operating at higher efficiency. The diesel engine's high torque, combined with hybrid technology, may offer substantially improved mileage. Most diesel vehicles can use 100% pure biofuels (biodiesel), so they can use but do not need
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
at all for fuel (although mixes of biofuel and petroleum are more common). If diesel-electric HEVs were in use, this benefit would likely also apply. Diesel-electric hybrid drivetrains have begun to appear in commercial vehicles (particularly buses); , no light duty diesel-electric hybrid passenger cars are available, although prototypes exist. Peugeot is expected to produce a diesel-electric hybrid version of its 308 in late 2008 for the European market.
PSA Peugeot Citroën The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
has unveiled two demonstrator vehicles featuring a diesel-electric hybrid drivetrain: the Peugeot 307, Citroën C4 Hybride HDi and Citroën C-Cactus.
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
made a
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
diesel-electric hybrid car that achieved fuel economy, but has yet to sell a hybrid vehicle. General Motors Corporation, General Motors has been testing the Opel Astra Diesel Hybrid. There have been no concrete dates suggested for these vehicles, but press statements have suggested production vehicles would not appear before 2009. At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009 both Mercedes and BMW displayed diesel-electric hybrids. Robert Bosch GmbH is supplying hybrid diesel-electric technology to diverse automakers and models, including the Peugeot 308. So far, production diesel-electric engines have mostly appeared in mass transit buses. FedEx, along with Eaton Corporation, Eaton Corp. in the US and Iveco in Europe, has begun deploying a small fleet of Hybrid diesel electric delivery trucks. As of October 2007, Fedex operates more than 100 diesel electric hybrids in North America, Asia and Europe.


Human power

There are bicycles that consist of an electric motor fitted turned by a generator powered from pedals almost similar to but different from pedal only bicycles. It also combines an Electric battery to store surplus power which can be charged from
regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism, the electric traction mo ...
, from battery chargers like a Battery electric vehicle or
Plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
and also from the pedal powered generator just like in an
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
vehicle that uses the engine to charge the battery. It is quite likely that such vehicles are considered hybrids since power to the electric motor is coming from two sources (i.e. pedal power via a generator and battery power)). ;Liquefied petroleum gas Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai introduced in 2009 the
Hyundai Elantra LPI Hybrid The Hyundai Elantra, also known as the Hyundai Avante ( ko, 현대 아반떼), is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 1990. The Elantra was initially marketed as the ''Lantra'' in Australia and some European m ...
, which is the first mass production hybrid electric vehicle to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).


Hydrogen

Hydrogen can be used in cars in two ways: a source of combustible heat, or a source of electrons for an electric motor. The burning of hydrogen is not being developed in practical terms; it is the hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (HFEV) which is garnering all the attention. Hydrogen fuel cells create electricity fed into an electric motor to drives the wheels. Hydrogen is not burned, but it is consumed. This means molecular hydrogen, H2, is combined with oxygen to form water. 2H2 (4e) + O2 --> 2H2O (4e). The molecular hydrogen and oxygen's mutual affinity drives the fuel cell to separate the electrons from the hydrogen, to use them to power the electric motor, and to return them to the ionized water molecules that were formed when the electron-depleted hydrogen combined with the oxygen in the fuel cell. Recalling that a hydrogen atom is nothing more than a proton and an electron; in essence, the motor is driven by the proton's atomic attraction to the oxygen nucleus, and the electron's attraction to the ionized water molecule. An HFEV is an all-electric car featuring an open-source battery in the form of a hydrogen tank and the atmosphere. HFEVs may also comprise closed-cell batteries for the purpose of power storage from regenerative braking, but this does not change the source of the motivation. It implies the HFEV is an electric car with two types of batteries. Since HFEVs are purely electric, and do not contain any type of heat engine, they are not hybrids.


Solar power

Some vehicles like mostly cars and occasionally other vehicles combine the solar Photovoltaics, photovoltaic cell propulsion system with an electric battery that is charged by the solar panel or sometimes like
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
vehicles can also be charged from the power grid. These types of vehicles are technically hybrids, although they consist of two types of cells, since both of them use different fuels. The advantage of combining the two systems is that the vehicle can function with the battery if there is no sunlight and also reduces the risk of getting stuck on the road in case of a battery depletion since the solar panels charge the battery simultaneously.


Bio-fuels

Hybrid vehicles might use an
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
running on biofuels, such as a flexible-fuel engine running on ethanol fuel, ethanol or engines running on biodiesel. In 2007 Ford Motor Corporation, Ford produced 20 demonstration Ford Escape Hybrid, Escape Hybrid E85s for real-world testing in fleets in the U.S. Also as a demonstration project, Ford delivered in 2008 the first flexible-fuel
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a Ford Escape Hybrid, Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid, capable of running on gasoline or E85. The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle would be the first commercially available flex-fuel plug-in hybrid capable of adapting the propulsion to the biofuels used in several world markets such as the ethanol blend E85 in the U.S., or Neat alcohol fuel, E100 in Brazil, or biodiesel in Sweden. The Volt will be E85 flex-fuel capable about a year after its introduction.


Design considerations

In some cases, manufacturers are producing HEVs that use the added energy provided by the hybrid systems to give vehicles a power boost, rather than significantly improved fuel efficiency compared to their traditional counterparts. The trade-off between added performance and improved fuel efficiency is partly controlled by the software within the hybrid system and partly the result of the engine, battery and motor size. In the future, manufacturers may provide HEV owners with the ability to partially control this balance (fuel efficiency vs. added performance) as they wish, through a user-controlled setting. Toyota announced in January, 2006 that it was considering a "high-efficiency" button.


Conversion kits

One can buy a stock hybrid or convert a stock petroleum car to a hybrid electric vehicle using an aftermarket kit, aftermarket hybrid kit.


Environmental impact


Fuel consumption

Electric hybrids reduce petroleum consumption under certain circumstances, compared to otherwise similar conventional vehicles, primarily by using three mechanisms: #Reducing wasted energy during idle/low output, generally by turning the
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...
off #Recapturing waste energy (i.e. regenerative braking) #Reducing the size and power of the ICE, and hence inefficiencies from under-utilization, by using the added power from the electric motor to compensate for the loss in peak power output from the smaller ICE. Any combination of these three primary hybrid advantages may be used in different vehicles to realize different fuel usage, power, emissions, weight and cost profiles. The
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...
in an HEV can be smaller, lighter, and more efficient than the one in a conventional vehicle, because the combustion engine can be sized for slightly above ''average'' power demand rather than ''peak'' power demand. The drive system in a vehicle is required to operate over a range of speed and power, but an ICE's highest efficiency is in a narrow range of operation, making conventional vehicles inefficient. On the contrary, in most HEV designs, the ICE operates closer to its range of highest efficiency more frequently. The power curve of electric motors is better suited to variable speeds and can provide substantially greater torque at low speeds compared with internal-combustion engines. The greater Fuel economy in automobiles, fuel economy of HEVs has implication for reduced petroleum consumption and roadway air dispersion modeling, vehicle air pollution emissions worldwide Many hybrids use the Atkinson cycle, which gives greater efficiency, but less power for the size of engine.


Noise

Reduced noise emissions resulting from substantial use of the electric motor at idling and low speeds, leading to roadway noise, roadway noise mitigation, noise reduction, in comparison to conventional gasoline or diesel powered engine vehicles, resulting in beneficial noise health effects (although road noise from tires and wind, the loudest noises at highway speeds from the interior of most vehicles, are not affected by the hybrid design alone). Reduced noise may not be beneficial for all road users, as blind people or the visually impaired consider the noise of combustion engines a helpful aid while crossing streets and feel quiet hybrids could pose an unexpected hazard. Tests have shown that vehicles operating in electric mode can be particularly hard to hear below . A 2009 study conducted by the NHTSA found that crashes involving pedestrian and bicyclist have higher incidence rates for hybrids than
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
vehicles in certain vehicle maneuvers. These accidents commonly occurred on in zones with low speed limits, during daytime and in clear weather. Technical Report DOT HS 811 204 In January 2010 the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan), Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism issued guidelines for hybrid and other near-silent vehicles. The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 was approved by the U.S. Congress in December 2010, and the bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011. A proposed rule was published for comment by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in January, 2013. It would require hybrids and electric vehicles traveling at less than to emit warning sounds that pedestrians must be able to hear over background noises. The rules are scheduled to go into effect in September 2014. In April 2014 the European Parliament approved legislation that requires the mandatory use of Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS) for all new electric and hybrid electric vehicles, and car manufacturers have to comply within five years. As of mid-2010, and in advance of upcoming legislation, some carmakers announced their decision to address this safety issue shared by regular hybrids and all types of plug-in electric vehicles, and as a result, the Nissan Leaf#Warning sounds, Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt, both launched in late 2010, and the Infiniti M#Hybrid version (2011–), Nissan Fuga hybrid and the Fisker Karma
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
, both launched in 2011, include synthesized sounds to alert pedestrians, the blind and others to their presence. ''The article has a video with the Leaf warning sounds.'' Toyota introduced its Electric vehicle warning sounds#Toyota, Vehicle Proximity Notification System (VPNS) in the United States in all 2012
model year The model year (sometimes abbreviated "MY") is a method of describing the version of a product which has been produced over multiple years. The model year may or may not be the same as the calendar year in which the product was manufactured. ...
Prius family vehicles, including the Prius v, Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the standard Prius. There is also After-market (general), aftermarket technology available in California to make hybrids sound more like conventional internal combustion engine, combustion engine cars when the vehicle goes into the silent all-electric mode, electric mode (EV mode). In August 2010 Toyota began sales in Japan of an onboard device designed to automatically emit a synthesized sound of an electric motor when the Toyota Prius, Prius is operating as an all-electric mode, electric vehicle at speeds up to approximately . Toyota plans to use other versions of the device for use in gasoline-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles as well as fuel-cell hybrid vehicles planned for mass production.


Top ten EPA-rated hybrids

The following table shows the fuel economy ratings and pollution indicators for the top ten most fuel efficient hybrids rated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , for
model year The model year (sometimes abbreviated "MY") is a method of describing the version of a product which has been produced over multiple years. The model year may or may not be the same as the calendar year in which the product was manufactured. ...
2015 and 2016 available in the American market.


Vehicle types


Motorcycles

Companies such as Zero Motorcycles and Vectrix have market-ready all-electric motorcycles available now, but the pairing of electrical components and an
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
(ICE) has made packaging wikt:cumbersome, cumbersome, especially for niche brands. Also, eCycle Inc produces series diesel-electric motorcycles, with a top speed of and a target retail price of $5500. Peugeot HYmotion3 compressor, a hybrid scooter (motorcycle), scooter is a three-wheeler that uses two separate power sources to power the front and back wheels. The back wheel is powered by a single cylinder 125 cc, single cylinder motor while the front wheels are each driven by their own
electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
. When the bike is moving up to 10 km/h only the electric motors are used on a stop-start basis reducing the amount of carbon emissions. SEMA has announced that Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha is going to launch one in 2010, with
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
following a year later, fueling a competition to reign in new customers and set new standards for mobility. Each company hopes to provide the capability to reach per charge by adopting advanced Lithium-ion battery, lithium-ion batteries to accomplish their claims. These proposed hybrid motorcycles could incorporate components from the upcoming
Honda Insight The is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its ...
car and its hybrid powertrain. The ability to mass-produce these items helps to overcome the investment hurdles faced by Startup company, start-up brands and bring new engineering concepts into mainstream markets.


Automobiles and light trucks


High-performance cars

As emissions regulations become tougher for manufacturers to adhere to, a new generation of high-performance cars will be powered by hybrid technology (for example the Porsche GT3 hybrid racing car). Aside from the emissions benefits of a hybrid system, the immediately available torque which is produced from electric motor(s) can lead to performance benefits by addressing the power curve weaknesses of a traditional combustion engine. Hybrid racecars have been very successful, as is shown by the Audi R18 and Porsche 919, which have won the 24 hours of Le Mans using hybrid technology.


Formula One

Since 2014 Formula One World Championship, 2014, Formula One cars have used 1.6 L turbocharged V6 engines, limited to 15,000 rpm. These engines allow Formula One cars to reach speeds of , as recorded by Valtteri Bottas at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix.


Taxis

In 2000,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
's first hybrid electric taxi was put into service in Vancouver, British Columbia, operating a 2001
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
which traveled over before being retired. In 2015, a taxi driver in Austria claimed to have covered in his Toyota Prius with the original battery pack. Many of the major cities in the world are adding hybrid taxis to their taxicab fleets, led by San Francisco and New York City. By 2009 15% of New York's 13,237 taxis in service are hybrids, the most in any city in North America, and also began retiring its original hybrid fleet after per vehicle. Other cities where taxi service is available with hybrid vehicles include Tokyo, London, Sydney, Melbourne, and Rome.


Buses

Hybrid technology for buses has seen increased attention since recent battery developments decreased battery weight significantly. Drivetrains consist of conventional diesel engines and gas turbines. Some designs concentrate on using car engines, recent designs have focused on using conventional diesel engines already used in bus designs, to save on engineering and training costs. , several manufacturers were working on new hybrid designs, or hybrid drivetrains that fit into existing chassis offerings without major re-design. A challenge to hybrid buses may still come from cheaper lightweight imports from the former Eastern bloc countries or China, where national operators are looking at fuel consumption issues surrounding the weight of the bus, which has increased with recent bus technology innovations such as glazing, air conditioning and electrical systems. A hybrid bus can also deliver fuel economy though through the hybrid drivetrain. Hybrid technology is also being promoted by environmentally concerned transit authorities.


Trucks

In 2003, General Motors, GM introduced a hybrid diesel-electric military (light) truck, equipped with a diesel electric and a fuel cell auxiliary power unit. Hybrid electric light trucks were introduced in 2004 by Mercedes Benz (Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Sprinter) and Micro-Vett SPA (Daily Bimodale). Navistar International, International Truck and Engine Corp. and Eaton Corp. have been selected to manufacture diesel-electric hybrid trucks for a US pilot program serving the utility industry in 2004. In mid-2005 Isuzu introduced the Elf Diesel Hybrid Truck on the Japanese Market. They claim that approximately 300 vehicles, mostly route buses are using Hinos HIMR (Hybrid Inverter Controlled Motor & Retarder) system. In 2007, high petroleum price means a hard sell for hybrid trucks and appears the first U.S. production hybrid truck (International DuraStar Hybrid). Other vehicles are: * Big mining machines like the Liebherr T 282B dump truck or Keaton Vandersteen LeTourneau L-2350 wheel loader are powered that way. Also there was several models of BelAZ (7530 and 7560 series) in USSR (now in Belarus) since the middle of 1970th. *NASA's huge Crawler-Transporters are diesel-electric. *Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid is a diesel-electric commercial truck. *Azure Dynamics Balance Hybrid Electric is a gasoline-hybrid electric medium dutry truck based on the Ford E-450 chassis. *Hino Motors (a
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
subsidiary) has the world's first production hybrid electric truck in Australia ( diesel engine plus a
electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
). Other hybrid petroleum-electric truck makers are DAF Trucks, MAN Truck & Bus, MAN with MAN TGL Series, Nissan Motors and Renault Trucks with Renault Puncher. Hybrid electric truck technology and
powertrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...
maker: ZF Friedrichshafen, EPower Engine Systems. By a voice vote, the United States House of Representatives approved the ( for truck classification, heavy duty plug-in hybrid vehicles) authored by representative James Sensenbrenner.


Military vehicles

Some 70 years after Porsche's pioneering efforts in hybrid-drivetrain armored fighting vehicles in World War II, the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
's manned ground vehicles of the Future Combat System all use a hybrid electric drive consisting of a diesel engine to generate electrical power for mobility and all other vehicle subsystems. However, all FCS land vehicles were put on hold in the 2010 United States Department of Defense, DOD budget. Other military hybrid prototypes include the Millenworks Light Utility Vehicle, the International FTTS, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck, HEMTT model A3, and the Shadow RST-V.


Locomotives

In May 2003, JR East started test runs with the so-called NE (new energy) train and validated the system's functionality (series hybrid with
lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also s ...
) in cold regions. In 2004, Railpower Technologies had been running pilots in the US with the so-called Green Goats, which led to orders by the Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Railways starting in early 2005. Railpower offers hybrid electric road switchers, as does GE. Diesel-electric locomotives may not always be considered HEVs, not having energy storage on board, unless they are fed with electricity via a collector for short distances (for example, in tunnels with emission limits), in which case they are better classified as dual-mode vehicles.


Marine and other aquatic

For large boats that are already diesel-electric, the upgrade to hybrid can be as straightforward as adding a large battery bank and control equipment; this configuration can provide fuel saving for the operators as well as being more environmentally sensitive. Producers of marine hybrid propulsion include: *eCycle Inc. *Solar Sailor Holdings


Aircraft

A hybrid electric aircraft is an aircraft with an hybrid electric powertrain, as the energy density of lithium-ion batteries is much lower than aviation fuel, it effectively increase the range compared to pure electric aircraft. By May 2018, there were over 30 projects, and short-haul hybrid-electric airliners are envisioned by 2032. The most advanced are the Zunum Aero 10-seater, the Airbus E-Fan X demonstrator, the VoltAero Cassio, the United Technologies Corp., UTC modified Bombardier Dash 8, and the Ampaire Electric EEL.


Hybrid premium and showroom cost parity

HEVs can be initially more expensive (the so-called "hybrid premium") than pure fossil fuel, fossil-fuel-based Internal combustion engine, ICE vehicles, due to extra batteries, more electronics and in some cases other design considerations (although charging station, battery renting can be used to reach the cost parity). The wikt:trade-off, trade-off between higher initial cost (also called showroom costs) and lower fuel costs (difference often referred to as the payback period) is dependent on usage – miles traveled, or hours of operation, fuel costs, and in some cases, government subsidies. Traditional economy vehicles may result in a lower direct cost for many users (before consideration of any externality). ''Consumer Reports'' ran an article in April 2006 stating that HEVs would not pay for themselves over five years of ownership. However, this included an error with charging the "hybrid premium" twice. When corrected, the
Honda Civic Hybrid The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Ac ...
and
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
did have a payback period of slightly less than five years. This includes conservative estimates with depreciation (seen as more depreciation than a conventional vehicle, although that is not the prevailing norm) and with progressively higher gas prices. In particular, the Consumer Reports article assumed $2/U.S. gallon for three years, $3/U.S. gallon for one year and $4/U.S. gallon the last year. As recent events have shown, this is a volatile market and hard to predict. For 2006, gas prices ranged from low $2 to low $3, averaging about $2.60/U.S. gallon. A January 2007 analysis by Intellichoice.com shows that all 22 available HEVs will save their owners money over a five-year period. The most savings is for the Toyota Prius, which has a five-year cost of ownership 40.3% lower than the cost of comparable non-hybrid vehicles. A report in the ''Greeley Tribune'' says that over the five years it would typically take for a new car owner to pay off the vehicle cost differential, a hybrid Camry driver could save up to in gasoline at June 2007 gasoline prices, with hybrid tax incentives as an additional saving. In countries with incentives to fight against global warming and contamination and promote vehicle fuel efficiency, the wikt:pay-back, pay-back period can be immediate, and all-combustion-engine vehicles can cost more than hybrids because they generate more pollution. Toyota and Honda have already said they've halved the incremental cost of electric hybrids and see cost parity in the future (even without incentives).


Raw materials shortage

The rare-earth element dysprosium is required to fabricate many of the advanced electric motors and battery systems in hybrid propulsion systems./ However, nearly all the rare-earth elements in the world come from China, and in 2008 one analyst estimated that an overall increase in Chinese electronics manufacturing may consume this entire supply by 2012. In addition, export quotas on Chinese rare-earth exports have resulted in a generally shaky supply of those metals. A few non-Chinese sources such as the advanced Hoidas Lake project in northern Canada and Mt Weld in Australia were under development, however it is not known if these sources will be developed before a shortage hits.


Legislation and incentives

In order to encourage the purchase of HEVs, several countries have introduced legislation for incentives and ecotaxes.


Canada

Residents of Ontario and Quebec in Canada can claim a rebate on the Provincial Retail Sales Tax of up to Can$2,000 on the purchase or lease of a hybrid electric vehicle. Ontario has a green license plate for hybrid car users and was to announce a slew of benefits to go along with it in 2008. Residents in British Columbia are eligible for a 100% reduction of sales tax up to a maximum of $2,000 if the hybrid electric vehicle is purchased or leased before April 1, 2011 (extended in 2007/2008 budget from March 31, 2008, and expanded from a maximum of only $1,000 from April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2009, at which point the concession was scheduled to expire). Prince Edward Island residents can claim rebates on the Provincial Sales Tax of up to Can$3,000 on the purchase or lease of any hybrid vehicles since March 30, 2004.


Israel

In Haifa, Israel, Haifa, hybrid vehicles are entitled to a free parking in city's parking lots for domestic citizens. Other cities, such as Petah-Tikva, have quickly adopted similar free parking for hybrid cars.


Japan

In 2009 the Japanese government implemented a set of policies and incentives that included a
scrappage program A scrappage program is a government budget programme to promote the replacement of old vehicles with modern vehicles. Scrappage programmes generally have the dual aim of stimulating the automobile industry and removing inefficient, more polluting v ...
, tax breaks on hybrid vehicles and other low emission cars and trucks, and a higher levy on gasoline that raised prices in the order of US$4.50 per gallon. New hybrid car sales for 2009 were almost triple those for 2008.


Jordan

In Jordan, customs and sales tax reduced for all hybrid vehicles from 55% to 25% of the vehicle list price, 12.5% customs fees and sales tax, if the new hybrid is a replacement for an old car (more than 10 years age). However, in March 2018, the government resorted to imposing the 55% customs and sales tax back again in its efforts to increase revenue.


Malaysia

In Malaysia, since mid 2014 all (CBU) fully imported hybrid and EV cars sold in Malaysia gets significantly increase of price after the CBU hybrid and EV incentive package that expired on December 31, 2013. The cars that effected are
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...
,
Toyota Prius c The Toyota Prius c (''c'' stands for "city"), named the (''" aqua"'' is Latin for water) in Japan, is a full hybrid gasoline-electric subcompact/supermini hatchback manufactured and marketed by Toyota. The Prius c is the third member of the P ...
,
Honda Civic Hybrid The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Ac ...
,
Honda Insight The is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its ...
,
Honda CR-Z The Honda CR-Z is a sport compact hybrid electric automobile manufactured by Honda and marketed as a "sport hybrid coupe." The CR-Z combines a hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain with traditional sports car elements, including a 2+2 seating arra ...
, Lexus CT200h, Audi A6 Hybrid, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Nissan Leaf. However the exemption of excise duties and import taxes for hybrids and EV will be extended for models that are (CKD) assembled in Malaysia. The exemption will be extended until December 31, 2015, for hybrids and December 31, 2017, for EVs. Only the locally assembled
Honda Jazz Hybrid The Honda Fit ( Japanese: ホンダ・フィット, Hepburn: ''Honda Fitto'') or Honda Jazz is a small car manufactured and marketed by Honda since 2001 and now in its fourth generation. It has a five-door hatchback body style and is considered ...
, Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W222), Mercedes-Benz S400 L Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid and the facelifted Nissan Serena, Nissan Serena S-Hybrid are entitled for hybrid inducements.


Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the vehicle registration tax (VRT), payable when a car is sold to its first buyer, can earn the owner of an HEV a discount up to €6,000.


New Zealand

In Christchurch, hybrid vehicles are entitled to an hour free parking in city council parking buildings. Where those buildings already provide an hour free, hybrid vehicles are entitled to an extra hour free.


Republic of Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, a discount of up to €1500 on vehicle registration tax (Ireland), VRT for hybrids, and up to €2500 for plugin hybrids was available until 31 December 2012. Previously there was a potential reduction of 50% of VRT applicable before July 2008, when VRT rates were based on engine size, rather than the emissions system. Some concerns were raised regarding the loss of VRT revenue due to the high number of expensive, luxury SUV hybrids imported, and also noting their large engine size, that in highway/extra-urban, and combined driving conditions may have negated much of the Hybrid engine arrangement emissions benefits (The Irish Times 11/11/2006).


Sweden

In Sweden there is an "Eco car" subsidy of SEK 10,000 (~ US$1,600) cash payout to private car owners. For fringe benefit cars there is a reduction of the benefit tax of 40% for EVs and HEVs and 20% for other "Eco cars".


United Kingdom

Drivers of HEVs in the United Kingdom benefit from the lowest band of vehicle excise duty (car tax), which is based on carbon dioxide emissions. In central London, these vehicles are also exempt from the £11.5 daily London congestion charge. Due to their low levels of regulated emissions, the greenest cars are eligible for 100% discount under the incentive system. To be eligible the car had to be on the Power Shift Register. , these included the cleanest Liquefied petroleum gas, LPG and natural gas cars and most hybrid-, battery- and fuel cell-electric vehicles.


United States


Federal

Through to December 31, 2010, the IRS permitted the purchaser of a hybrid electric car a federal income tax credit up to $3,400. The tax credit was to be phased out two calendar quarters after the manufacturer reached 60,000 new cars sold in the following manner: it was reduced to 50% if delivered in either the third or fourth quarter after the threshold was reached, to 25% in the fifth and sixth quarters, and 0% thereafter. As of April 2010, three auto manufactures reached the 60,000 cap;
Toyota Motor Company is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
reached it in 2007,
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
in 2008, and as of April 1, 2010, no
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
hybrid vehicles remained eligible for this tax credit. Vehicles purchased after December 31, 2010, are not eligible for this credit, as this benefit will expire on this date.


States and local

* Certain states (e.g., California, Florida, New York (state), New York, and Virginia) allowed singly occupied HEVs to enter the High-occupancy vehicle lane, HOV lanes on the highway. Initially, the Federal Highway Administration ruled that this was a violation of federal statute until August 10, 2005, when
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
signed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, Transportation Equity Act of 2005 into law. In California, a total of 85,250 owners of the three eligible hybrid models benefited from free access to HOV lanes from 2004 to mid-2011. This incentive expired on July 1, 2011, and now hybrids are required to comply the minimum passenger requirements to use the HOV lanes. * Some states, e.g., California, exempted hybrid electric cars from the biennial smog inspection, which costs over $50 (). * Until 2007, the city of San Jose, California, issued a free parking tag for hybrid electric cars purchased at San Jose dealerships, after which the tag began being issued for a fee annually. The qualified owners did not have to pay for parking in any city garage or at roadside parking meters. * Beginning October 1, 2004, the city of Los Angeles, California, offers free parking to all HEVs. The experiment is an extension to an existing offer of free parking for all pure electrical vehicles. * In October 2005, the city of Baltimore, Maryland, started to offer discount on monthly parking in the city parking lots, and is considering free meter parking for HEVs. * On 3 November 2005, ''The Boston Globe'' reported that Boston, Massachusetts, Boston's city council was considering the same treatment for hybrid electric cars. * Annual vehicle registration fees in Washington, D.C., are $36, half those paid for conventional vehicles ($72). File:California sticker for HOV access front and back location.jpg, California's clean air bumper sticker used to allow HEVs to access High-occupancy vehicle lane, HOV lanes. Shown a RechargeIT's plug-in hybrid, plug-in converted
Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, th ...
(left) and a conventional Toyota Prius (right). File:Hybrid parking sign DC 07 2010 9571.JPG, Some shopping malls in Northern Virginia have designated reserved parking spaces for electric hybrid cars.


See also


Notes


References

* * *
New York City Taxis to go all hybrid by 2012
2007-05-22
Mother Earth News article from 1978 on the original regenerative braking hybrid car

GM Announces Chevrolet Volt Series Hybrid Concept Vehicle
2007-01-07
Hybrid-Electric "Bus of the Future" Tested By Capital Metro

Israel Mulls Hybrid Taxis


* [http://www.fedex.com/us/about/responsibility/environment/hybridelectricvehicle.html About FedEx Hybrid Electric Vehicle in the USA]
2004 Toyota Prius – Motor Trend Car of the Year


(Star Tribune).
Doctors Orders: Buy a Hybrid


External links


Ford Transit Eléctrica


(National Renewable Energy Laboratory) *
Hybrid and Electric Vehicles – The Electric Drive Gains Traction
, IA-HEV, International Energy Agency, May 2013
Report on how HEVs work.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hybrid Electric Vehicle Hybrid electric vehicles,