Hybrid Car

A hybrid car is a car that can be powered by gasoline or electricity or both at the same time.

The idea of hybrid vehicles is not new. In the mid 1600s, a Jesuit priest worked on plans for a carriage that could either be pulled by a horse or run by steam.

More recently, an American named Piper invented a system in 1905 in which an electric motor could be used to increase the power of a gasoline engine. About the same time, hybrid vehicles were developed, built, and used commercially in England, France, Belgium, and Germany.




In North America, hybrid vehicles were built by automotive firms in Chicago and Ontario from 1914 into the 1940s, but they could not reach very high speeds. Most consumers chose gasoline-powered cars because they were faster and gas was cheap and plentiful.

Hybrid cars are more environmentally friendly and more fuel efficient, however. By the late 1990s, North Americans were more interested in buying hybrids because pollution was getting worse and gas prices were increasing due to problems with fuel supplies.

In 1997, Toyota introduced and sold 18,000 Prius hybrid cars in Japan. This made the Prius the world’s first successful mass-produced hybrid vehicle. It was sold in North America in 2000. It could go about 52 miles on a gallon of gas, its battery did not have to be plugged in, and it had room for 5 people. Over 110,000 of these Prius hybrids were sold in over 20 countries. In 2004, Toyota introduced a more powerful and roomier version of the Prius.

Other automotive manufacturers, including Honda, Lexus, Ford, and Chevrolet, now sell hybrid cars and sport utility vehicles. Although hybrids cost more than gas-powered vehicles, they are expected to become less expensive as technology improves and demand for them grows.