The Beginner's Guide to hybrid electric vehicle
What's hybrid electric vehicle? Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), which is also called as hybrid vehicle, combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system (That's the conventional gas driven motor) with an electric propulsion system (electric motor). The combination of two engines, is to achieve better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance.
Below shows hybrid electric vehicle with 2 engines:
In fact a variety of types of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) exist. The most common hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is hybrid electric car. And there's other type of HEV: hybrid electric trucks (pickups and tractors). Generally, when we refer to hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), we are calling hybrid electric car. :-) Because there are many hybrid electric cars in the market, we simply don't know there exist hybrid electric trucks (pickups and tractors) in the world.
Which brand is the first one in the market of hybrid electric automobile? :-) You may think it's Toyota. But in fact the first gasoline-electric hybrid automobile in the world is Ferdinand Porsche. Ferdinand Porsche developed the Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid in 1900. But Toyota Prius is the top selling hybrid electric car in the world. It's said that with cumulative global sales, it reaches 1.6 million units by early 2010.
The increases in the price of petroleum worldwide caused many automakers to release hybrids in the late 2000s. Hybrid electric vehicles were initially perceived as unnecessary because of the low price of gasoline. (To be continued)
