Hybrid electric vehicle or Hybrid

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a vehicle which combines a conventional propulsion system with an on-board rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) to achieve better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle without being hampered by range from a charging unit like an electric vehicle. The different propulsion power systems may have common subsystems or components.

Regular HEVs most commonly use an internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric batteries to power electric motors. Modern mass produced HEVs prolong the charge on their batteries by capturing kinetic energy via regenerative braking, and some HEVs can use the combustion engine to generate electricity by spinning an electrical generator (often a motor-generator) to either recharge the battery or directly feed power to an electric motor that drives the vehicle. This contrasts with battery electric vehicles which use batteries charged by an external source. Many HEVs reduce idle emissions by shutting down the ICE at idle and restarting it when needed. An HEV's engine is smaller and may be run at various speeds, providing more efficiency.

HEVs became widely available to the public in the 1990s with the introduction of the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius. HEVs are viewed by some automakers as a core segment of the next future automotive market. In an article for the July-August 2007 issue of THE FUTURIST magazine titled "Energy Diversity as a Business Imperative", including plug-in hybrid vehicles. GM vice president for environment and energy Elizabeth Lowery is quoted as saying, "Today, we are embracing multiple energy sources because there is no single answer available for the mass market…"