Petrol Electric Hybrid (PHEV)

Petrol electric hybrid or PHEV for short is a term for cars with the ability to run on electricity and/or petrol.

PHEVs generally offer the best combination of flexibility when it comes to power sources for the engine and are some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market. All petrol-electric hybrids contain a battery and electric engine but can also contain a petrol engine or petrol generator to use when the battery runs low or is completely drained.

What is the difference between a petrol-electric hybrid and a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid?

The main difference between a petrol-electric hybrid and a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid is that the plug-in hybrid supports a level 1 or level 2 EV charger to resupply the car's batteries. This makes the car much more flexible and generally more fuel efficient as it allows some or all of the car's travel to come from electricity rather than fuel.

What is the downside of a hybrid car?

The downside of hybrid cars is that they are not as efficient as pure electric vehicles as they need to contain the hardware to support both electric and fuel power sources. This increases the weight of the car and adds more parts that could fail and require maintenance.

What fuel do hybrid electric cars use?

Hybrid electric cars can use either petrol, diesel or hydrogen fuel sources. However, new and exciting green fuels are coming out all the time so this list could change at any time.

Do you have to put petrol in a hybrid car?

It depends on the vehicle. Usually, hybrid cars are powered by petrol but they can also sometimes be powered by diesel, hydrogen or a new type of biofuel.