Introduction

Pure electric cars often cannot keep up with conventional vehicles: their range is shorter, the cost of the battery drives up the price, and the network of charging stations is still not sufficiently developed in many places. 

Hybrid vehicles offer a solution: They combine an electric drive with a combustion engine. This makes longer journeys possible than in pure electric cars, with lower petrol or diesel consumption than with a vehicle powered exclusively by a combustion engine.

What is the hybrid engine

An electric motor and a combustion engine, typically a gasoline engine but less frequently a diesel engine, are the two sources of energy that a hybrid vehicle uses. A hybrid drive seeks to balance out the drawbacks of both drive systems while combining their benefits: 

What are the three types of hybrid vehicles

Hybrids can be differentiated according to their level of electrification. According to the ADAC, depending on this, fuel savings of between 15 and 25% are possible compared to a petrol vehicle, and even more with a plug-in hybrid.

Micro-hybrid

A micro-hybrid has an electronic start-stop system and can recover energy when braking. This energy is stored in a traditional 12-volt starter battery. However, because the car is only powered by the combustion engine, several driving categories do not even consider micro-hybrids to be hybrid concepts. Thus, cars with combustion engines and advanced drive electronics are considered micro-hybrids. There is little fuel savings. 

Mild hybrid

Unlike micro hybrids, mild hybrids (also known as mild hybrid electric vehicles, or MHEVs) already have an electric motor in the drive, but only to assist a combustion engine and never on its own. For instance, when accelerating, it relaxes the engine. A 48-volt battery complements the traditional 12-volt battery in a mild hybrid. A mild hybrid can recover more braking energy than a micro hybrid because of the higher voltage. Additionally, because the engine can be stopped more frequently and for a longer period of time, the automatic start-stop system is more efficient. Compared to cars with a normal combustion engine, mild hybrid vehicles can save up to 15% on fuel consumption.

Full hybrid

An electric motor and a combustion engine collaborate intelligently and adaptably in a complete hybrid (complete Hybrid Electric Vehicle, or FHEV). It is also feasible to drive entirely on electricity, though this is typically limited to short trips of a few kilometers. Full hybrids, in contrast to mild hybrids, include a high-voltage traction battery with a voltage of several hundred volts instead of a 48-volt battery in addition to the 12-volt battery. Additionally, the electric motor performs better than the mild hybrid. The German Federal Environment Agency claims that fuel savings of more than 20% are achievable as compared to a pure combustion engine. 

Are hybrid engines better

An Ifpen research released at the end of 2020 found that non-rechargeable hybrid cars produce 12% less CO2 on average than comparable gasoline-powered cars. In cities, this advantage increases to 33%, whereas on motorway segments, it is nearly nothing. According to Ifpen, a plug-in hybrid that is “also capable of approaching zero emissions” by mostly using electricity can be driven smoothly and recharged in a systematic manner.

Because hybrid engines (typically) combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine, they are considered more “sophisticated” than other types of engines.

A hybrid model may feature a traction battery with a relatively substantial capacity, as is the case with basic, non-rechargeable hybrid vehicles, depending on how hybridized it is. The latter lets you go several kilometers on electricity only and recharges itself while you brake.  

The battery or batteries will also recharge while you drive if you choose a vehicle with a rechargeable hybrid engine. be made more noticeable by connecting it to a domestic outlet or terminal. Additionally, you will be able to travel several hundred kilometers, depending on the model, without using any fuel at all.

The dependability of hybrid engines is evident despite the technology’s increased complexity. As a well-known hybrid expert, Toyota can take pride in being one of the industry leaders in terms of dependability. 

What happens if a hybrid battery dies

The gasoline engine will kick in to recharge the high-voltage battery system if it is just discharged. Every time you drive a hybrid in normal mode—not pure EV mode—this is what occurs.

It’s interesting to note that the computer in the automobile prevents the high-voltage batteries from draining entirely because doing so could harm them. 

However, the automobile will often no longer be able to drive at all if the high voltage battery is fully depleted.

The automobile would therefore stop with a little amount of battery charge remaining even if it ran out of gas and was powered only by the batteries. Just enough to keep the battery from getting damaged, but not enough to move the car.

However, the automobile will often no longer be able to drive at all if the high voltage battery is fully depleted. When the car detects a catastrophic malfunction, it will stop moving in order to protect everything else.

Increased fuel usage and an increasingly frequent gasoline engine are the first indications of a decaying primary battery. The driver might not notice the gradual shift because this might also occur over months. 

Conclusion

With the Rivian pickup truck, which can theoretically be charged while being towed, the idea of towing a hybrid or electric vehicle with a dead battery has also emerged. However, most manufacturers advise against this since the absence of a neutral gear in the transmission could cause the batteries to overcharge and then overheat. Thank you for reading, and please share your thoughts in the comments section.