The term “hybrid” comes from the Greek and means something like “mixed being” or “double figure”. In biology, living beings that are born from the crossing of two different species are defined as hybrids. Even in science fiction this idea is often used, when, for example, man and animal merge into a new creature. The idea of the hybrid drive, however, is not so futuristic. In fact, after all, it is simply a matter of combining two different types of traction , so that the strengths of one compensate for the weaknesses of the other. Steam engine sailing ships were among the first hybrid vehicles. They mainly used the free push of the wind; but if the air was still, they could still travel used cars in rio linda.
The traction of a hybrid car essentially doesn’t work any differently. An electric and a thermal motor (usually petrol, sometimes even diesel) are connected to it. What at first glance seems simple, in the details proves to be a complicated problem from a technical point of view . After all, most of the time the two generators do not work at the same time, but are activated alternately. For example, if the car accelerates for an overtaking maneuver, the heat engine provides additional energy for some time, and then switches off again. In pure hybrid cars, the heat engine also supplies the lithium-ion batteries with power. If the hybrid battery is flat, the electric motor switches off automatically and delegates traction to the heat engine, which recharges the battery with part of its performance.
Currently three different levels of hybrid traction are used: micro, light and full hybridization. Micro hybrids have a name that does not do them justice: they excel solely thanks to the automatic start / stop control and the recovery of braking energy, with which the starter battery is recharged. In light hybrids , the electric motor actually supports the heat engine. However, in models like the Honda Insight or BMW’s 7 Series, the electric motor alone cannot propel the vehicle. The situation is different in full hybrids , where the electric motor can provide an autonomous contribution.