This document provides an overview of hybrid electric vehicles, including:
- The history of hybrid vehicles from early prototypes in the 1890s combining internal combustion engines and electric motors to modern mass-market hybrids like the Toyota Prius.
- The components and operating principles of hybrid electric vehicles, which combine a gasoline or diesel engine with an electric motor and batteries.
- An analysis of the environmental impacts of different vehicle types like conventional, hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles over their full life cycles. The study found hybrids have lower emissions than conventional vehicles.
- The social importance of hybrids in reducing emissions from transportation, which accounts for a significant portion of global CO2 and air pollution. W