What
Is a Hybrid System ?
A
hybrid system combines different power sources to maximize each one's
strengths, while compensating for the others' shortcomings. A gasoline-electric
hybrid system, for example, combines an internal combustion engine's high-speed
power with the clean efficiency and low-speed torque of an electric motor that
never needs to be plugged in.
Are
All Hybrids Created Equal ?
There
are several ways in which electric motors and a gas/petrol engine can be
combined.
Toyota
perfected the series/parallel or "full" hybrid to deliver the
energy-saving benefit of a series hybrid together with the acceleration benefit
of a parallel hybrid. Two key technologies — the power split device and
sophisticated energy management — make this possible. They constantly optimize
the flows of mechanical power and electric power for safe and comfortable
vehicle operation at the highest possible efficiency.
