The Difference Between Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid Cars

One of the great things about new technologies is that they usually improve some aspect of our lives. This is especially true when it comes to vehicles, since driving and traveling are activities that we do pretty often. The problem with new technologies is that they can be tough to completely understand, which makes it hard to take full advantage of what they have to offer. There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to hybrid vehicles, especially since there are different types of them. Here’s a basic overview of the difference between traditional hybrid vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles
This is the type of hybrid car that most people are familiar with. They’re pretty similar to plug-in cars, but there are a few major differences. These hybrids run from two power sources. One is the internal combustion engine which is powered by gasoline (which also runs regular cars) and the other is an electric battery. These hybrids predominately run from the gasoline power source, but use power from the electric battery as needed (this is why hybrid fuel economy is about 20% to 35% better than typical cars). Electric batteries for cars use regenerative braking technology, which means that when the driver applies the brakes an amount of energy is put back into the battery.

Plug-In Electric Vehicles
PLug-in electric vehicles, on the other hand, is in the same class of car but basically functions in the opposite way. These cars predominately use the electric battery for power, and only uses the gasoline power source when it needs to. Hybrid car batteries in plug-ins also take advantage of regenerative braking, but they usually aren’t powerful enough to serve as the main driving system.

Do you have any questions about the difference between hybrid and plug in electric vehicles? Feel free to ask us in the comments section below.