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What’s the deal with hybrid vehicles?

Apr 18, 2016

A lot of customers ask us what hybrid vehicles are and how they work. These vehicles are, as their name implies, literally a hybrid between an electric vehicle and a gasoline-powered vehicle. A hybrid vehicle has both a gasoline-powered motor as well as an electric motor. The electric motor is powered by a dedicated battery (not the same one that powers the lights and radio) which is charged through a process called “regenerative braking.”

Regenerative braking uses a vehicle’s brakes to charge the battery. The friction required to slow or stop a moving vehicle generates a tremendous amount of heated energy, which is converted into electric energy and stored in the dedicated battery. Once the battery has sufficient energy stored, the hybrid vehicle will shut off the gasoline motor and use the electric motor to power the vehicle. Once the store of electricity has been depleted, the vehicle automatically turns the gasoline engine back on. Many types of vehicles (including SUV’s) are available in hybrid models. In fact, the Toyota RAV4 (the best-selling passenger car in New England!) just launched a hybrid version a couple months back. The all-new 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has been very well received. Because hybrid vehicles recharge their batteries in stop-and-go traffic they have a particular quirk: unlike their gasoline-powered counterparts, they actually have better fuel economy in city driving than they do on the highway.

To give a real life example, the Toyota Camry is available as both a gasoline-powered sedan as well as a hybrid vehicle. The gasoline version is rated at 25 mpg in the city, a very respectable 35 mpg on the highway, and a combined rating of 28 mpg. The hybrid version of this same vehicle is rated at 43 mpg in the city, 39 mpg on the highway, and 41 mpg overall. So , on average, the Camry Hybrid is 46% more efficient than the conventional Camry. but in city conditions, the Camry Hybrid is 76% more efficient than the gasoline version! It is for this exact reason that so many taxis in Boston are Camry Hybrids. While anyone can benefit from the improved fuel economy of hybrid vehicles, people who live and work in cities stand to benefit the most.