Difference between EVs & Hybrid Vehicles

Electric Vehicle Vs Hybrid Vehicle-

Electric Vehicle:

An electric car operates from electrical supply which is fed from batteries installed in the EV. These batteries are of higher capacity & there is no Internal Combustion Engine inside it.

Conventional Vehicle:

On the other hand, a conventional car operates from gasoline/petrol or diesel with the help of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). The ICE cars have small auxiliary battery which provides supply to accessories of vehicles like lights etc.

Hybrid Vehicle:

Now a hybrid vehicle /car utilize power from both source- ICE & batteries where battery plays additional role of assisting cars in idle start – stop, enhance the torque when required at the time of starting from idle or going uphill. This battery is rechargeable type that recharge itself with regenerative braking. Since battery plays additional role (as mentioned above) in hybrid car, the car becomes fuel efficient & generate less emission as compared to normal fuel car.

Working of Hybrid vehicle

It consists of following main parts –

1. An auxiliary battery
2. A traction battery pack
3. Electric traction motor
4. Electric generator
5. Fuel tank
6. Internal combustion engine

The function of auxiliary battery is to supply power to start the car before traction battery starts its work. It also supplies power to car accessories.

The function of traction battery pack is to store the power which is transferred by the electric generator. Traction battery pack is a rechargeable battery. The electric generator produces electricity during braking of rotating wheels. The function of traction motor is to take power from battery pack & drive the wheels. Initial vehicle movement (from standstill) is done by electric traction motor, after taking some speed internal combustion process takes over the operation of the vehicle.

The function of fuel tank is to store the fuel (gasoline which is petrol/diesel) & is used when it is needed. The function of engine starts when fuel is injected in the engine chamber where it is mixed with air. The mixture of air & fuel is ignited by the spark of spark plug.

The combination of electric system & internal combustion engine makes Hybrid car more fuel economy & ecofriendly than conventional diesel/petrol cars.

What is regenerative braking system 

A hybrid car doesn’t need direct electric charging like an electric vehicle. Rather hybrid batteries are charged through rotating wheels during braking or in other words we can say that when driver applies brake, the motor acts as a generator & it recharges the battery. This process is called regenerative braking system. Smooth switching between two powers electric & gas makes hybrid vehicle efficient

Types of  hybrid vehicles /cars are available in India –

• Honda City
• MG Hector
• Toyota Vellfire
• Toyota Camry
• Volvo XC90
• Volvo XC60
• BMW 7 Series
• Lexus ES
• Lexus RX
• Lexus NX
• Lexus LC
• Porsche Cayenne
• Porsche Cayenne Coupe
• Maserati Ghibli

Micro & Mild Hybrid cars are also called semi hybrid. Maruti Suzuki cars use SHVS (Smart Hybrid Technology by Suzuki) technology. Ciaz was the first semi-hybrid vehicle introduced by Maruti Suzuki.  While Mahindra cars use Intelli-Hybrid technology first introduced in Scorpio model.

What is mild hybrid? –

Mild hybrids are the simplest form of hybrid system used in the vehicles. The electric motor installed in the vehicle provides power during hard acceleration. Such vehicles use regenerative energy produced from brakes to charge the batteries which supports the engine. As heavy batteries don’t use in mild hybrid system, such vehicles don’t add additional load on them.

Mild hybrid vehicles are much cheaper than full hybrid vehicle. Maintenance of mild hybrid vehicles is also cheaper.

What is micro-hybrid? –

Micro-Hybrid is also known as Idle -Stop system which shuts off a vehicle when it is idle for a long period and again automatically switched on when clutch /accelerator is used. Generally, micro hybrid system restarts everything when vehicle starts again automatically.