How hybrid cars work?

Hybrid cars work by flawlessly integrating multiple power sources such as a gas engine, an electric motor and a high-powered battery to make motive power. Hybrid technology does it one better by combining a small gasoline engine with a high-torque electric motor and a battery, yielding top gas mileage and greener operations; some hybrids create 50 percent fewer emissions. Generally the battery provides power for the electric motor and is recharged by recapturing energy from gas engine that would normally be lost when decelerating or coasting. This recapturing of energy is called regenerative braking. If needed, power from the gas engine can be diverted to recharge the battery as well.
Different hybrid uses this technology a little differently. Some hybrid uses Electric Motor only to assist gas engine, know as mild hybrid.  Honda Insight and Honda Civic (2003-2005) use this technology. In this technology:

  • Gas engine provides the main force, and the electric motor provides assist whenever extra power is needed.
  • The electric motor can not operate independently of the gas engine.
  • The electric motor can generate electricity for the battery or consume electricity from the battery, but not both at the same time

On other hand, some hybrid technology can use Gas Engine and Electric Motor Independently. This type of vehicles knows as ‘Full Hybrid’. For example Toyota Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Toyota Highlander, and Lexus RX 400h use this type full hybrid technology. In this technology:

  • The electric motor can operate on its own in certain conditions.
  • Under low speed or when lower power needed, only electric motor used to run the car.
  • When higher power needed, both the gas engine and the electric motor can work together to provide the needed power.
  • Able to generate and consume electricity at the same time.

All Hybrids require the latest power-train technology, but that's just the start. Many have sleek profiles that slice through the wind with low aerodynamic drag. Low-resistance tires made of special rubber reduce friction with the road, while the high-capacity nickel-metal-hydride battery pack reliably doles out power to the electric motor when needed. Many also run on advanced continuously variable transmissions with an infinite variety of gear ratios to choose from rather than the traditional gearbox's four or five. One, the Chevy Silverado/Sierra pickup, even sports an electrical generator and AC outlets for instant power anywhere. Finally, these cars would be just so much steel, plastic, and aluminum without computers that oversee their operation and choreograph it all like a technological ballet.