A plug-in hybrid car is similar to a conventional hybrid vehicle—both use a gasoline engine as well as an electric motor. However, with a larger battery packs, a plug-in hybrid can be recharged by connecting to common household electricity. Without using any gasoline, Plug-in hybrids can be driven for long distances—from a few miles to as much as 40 miles.
Plug-in Prius prototype
While maintaining the same driving range as standard or conventional vehicles plug-in hybrids provide the benefits of an electric car. Plug-in hybrid drivers travel in an all-electric mode for the vast majority of common local driving. When the battery’s electric charge is depleted, a downsized gas engine is used to either recharge the batteries (as the car moves), or as the primary source of propulsion until recharging the batteries via a plug.
Plug-in hybrid cars are also known as PHEVs or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Plug-in hybrid cars that use a gas engine exclusively for recharging batteries—rather than directly powering the wheels—are also called E-REVs or Extended-Range Electric Vehicles.
Barack Obama Invests $2.4 Billion in Plug-in Hybrid and Batteries
Barack Obama, US President, has a huge concern about our environmental and reduce our dependence on oil. In Elkhart, Indiana, Barack Obama says, “If we want to reduce our dependence on oil, put Americans back to work and reassert our manufacturing sector as one of the greatest in the world, we must produce the advanced, efficient vehicles of the future.”
And today, the Obama administration announced $2.4 billion in grants for US manufacturers to build next generation auto batteries for hybrid and plug-in hybrid. Michigan-based companies received approximately half of the funds.
The spending is the US government’s bet on battery-powered vehicles—an attempt to overcome the challenges of creating small, reliable, lightweight, and affordable rechargeable hybrid and electric car batteries, as well as the infrastructure to allow drivers to bypass gas stations and charge their cars from the electric grid.
Almost all battery manufacturing for advanced technology vehicles is currently based in Asia.
Another articles by Johan Young you may interest in reading: Hybrid Car Performance, Diesel Hybrid, Ford Fusion, and Ford Fusion Design.
source: www.hybridcars.com
