What Exactly is a Hybrid Car?

Even if you drive a hybrid car, you probably don’t know some basic facts about your car and what makes it work.

Hybrid cars use two separate engines for propulsion, usually an electric motor and a gasoline-powered engine. And while auto companies usually act as if hybrids are all the same, they come in three main forms: series hybrids, plug-ins and parallel hybrids.

Series hybrids use an electric motor to power a car’s movement – the gas engine just recharges the electric battery. In plug-in hybrids, the electric engine’s battery can be charged directly through an electric outlet. The car is propelled by the electric motor alone, and most plug-ins also include a combustion engine for battery regeneration.