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What is a plug-in hybrid car?

By, CoolMotor

• 2023-12-29
• 21 View

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (abbreviation: PHEV) is a hybrid vehicle. Compared with general hybrid vehicles, the characteristic of PHEV is that its rechargeable battery can be charged by an external power source in addition to being charged by a generator driven by the internal combustion engine on the vehicle. Generally speaking, the battery capacity of PHEV is smaller than that of electric vehicles, but most of them are larger than the battery capacity of ordinary gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles are designed for commuters. Most commuters commute within a dozen kilometers. The battery life of plug-in hybrid vehicles only needs 20 to 30 kilometers to meet most commuting needs (no need for commuting) Start the internal combustion engine). In the case of long-distance driving (mostly holiday trips), even electric vehicles with a range of hundreds of kilometers may run out of power. At this time, plug-in hybrid vehicles use the internal combustion engine to provide energy, and their convenience is similar to traditional gasoline and diesel vehicles. ; The engine operating mode is closer to the most efficient fixed-speed operation, so it is also very fuel-efficient, and can even allow rotary engines and turbine engines to achieve the goals of low fuel consumption and low pollution; some vehicles use small engines and do not use complex transmission systems, which can avoid The added weight and cost of selling batteries.

For power plants, most plug-in hybrid vehicles are charged during off-peak hours. This feature allows power generation and distribution operators to hardly spend a lot of money to expand generator sets and power grids; moreover, power plants are at low output and low efficiency during off-peak hours. operating mode, if the output is increased at this time, the increased pollution and carbon emissions will be extremely small. If it can be combined with a smart charging system (the vehicle communicates with the electricity industry to determine the charging time), the environmental benefits will be even better.

In terms of overall pollution emissions, in electric vehicle mode, pollution is transferred to power plants. Power plants can use large-scale pollution prevention and control equipment, so the overall pollution emissions are lower. It is worthwhile even using coal-fired power plants to generate electricity, and the power plants are located in the suburbs. , its air pollution emissions can be greatly diluted before being inhaled by people, and pollution is also less harmful to human health; when starting the engine, pollution emissions are also very low because of fixed-speed operation, which can still reduce overall pollution. As for energy efficiency, since large power plants are more efficient than car engines and are often charged during off-peak hours, charging can still improve overall energy efficiency even if the loss of power transmission and storage is taken into account.

Another possible development for plug-in hybrid vehicles is to serve as generators, providing backup power during power outages.

But the disadvantages of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles may be more serious, such as lithium mining problems, battery costs, environmental costs of manufacturing batteries.

Examples of several mass-produced PHEV models

BYD Qin (BYD Auto)

BYD Han (BYD Auto)

Chevrolet Volt (General Motors)

Toyota Prius III PHEV (Toyota Motors)

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (Mitsubishi Motors)

BMW i8 (BMW)

BMW X5 xDrive40e (BMW)