All about the rechargeable hybrid car

The battery of a rechargeable hybrid car connects to an electricity source via a socket generally located on the side of the car opposite the fuel hatch. A charging cable then connects the vehicle to a charging station, whether domestic or public.

What is the difference between a hybrid car, a rechargeable hybrid car and an electric car ?

A green future is a future in which we reduce all polluting emissions from our car fleet. By increasing for example the number of train, bus and tram routes or using cycling more often. But the emergence of electric cars also has its place in this scenario of the future. What is the current offer in electric cars ? And what is the difference between an electric car and the hybrid and rechargeable hybrid variants ?

A hybrid car

A hybrid car hides two motors under its hood. On the one hand a combustion engine, for example petrol. And on the other hand an electric motor, with battery. During driving, the battery is loaded through the combustion engine. So you don’t need a power outlet to load this car.

There are two kinds of hybrid cars:

• “Mild Hybrids”: the electric motor serves only as a combustion engine support. This car will never only work electric.
• “Full hybrids”: they can only operate on electric, but over a short distance and at a limited speed. The largest capacity battery allows you to achieve it.

A small hybrid city car costs around 20,000 euros. For a larger and more luxurious model, it will cost you about twice as much.

The purchase of a hybrid car can have favorable consequences on the registration tax due to CO2 emissions reduced compared to a comparable non -hybrid model.

A rechargeable hybrid car

The name of this car already says a long. It is indeed a hybrid car that you can recharge by plug it into a socket. The rechargeable hybrid combines, like the ordinary hybrid, a combustion engine to an electric motor. The rechargeable battery of this car is however significantly larger and efficient. A 30 km route can be fully done using the electric battery. Ideal for browsing small distances !

The price of this car is significantly higher than a conventional hybrid car, because the technology that the team is more complex. So count a good 45,000 euros for a quality rechargeable hybrid model. The lower CO2 emissions of this model reduce the amount of the connection tax.

To optimally use your electric motor and therefore drive to electric, you must have a charging station at home at home or at your workplace. For the time being, in Belgium, few public charging stations are available, which complicates recharges along the way.

An electric car

The electric car is, unlike the two hybrid models, entirely electric. It’s very simple: a battery, one or more engines and a connection between these elements.

The list of advantages of an electric car has grown. Here are some already:

• An electric car is not equipped with a gearbox. You can directly use its full power and go quickly.
• Electricity is much cheaper and more ecological (if it is wind or solar electricity) than the fuels used for combustion engines.
• An electric car does not emit CO2.
• The parts are little wear, which also reduces maintenance costs.
• The car is more stable because the battery is at the bottom, lowering the center of gravity of the car.

The price of a fully electric car is its weak point, but the new models become more affordable.

The price of a fully electric car is its weak point, but the new models become more affordable. The high price is mainly explained by the cost of the battery. You will find very small electrical urban cars for 25,000 euros. For a compact family car, count nearly 35,000 euros. For a luxurious electric car equipped with all gadgets, you will have to pay more than 80,000 euros.

Let’s talk about the autonomy of electric cars. Depending on the specific battery capacity (which varies depending on the model), car manufacturers guarantee a range of 150 to 400 km. If these figures seem to frighten a crowd of consumers, they are more than enough to cover the movements between the home and the workplace. The absence of enough charging stations confirms them in their conviction that the electric car does not allow you to go very far.

Recycling the electric vehicle battery

Electric vehicle batteries must be subject to a careful recycling. A new agreement concluded between the ministers of the environment, the federations concerned and Bebat constitutes in this context a step in the right direction. Thus, both the authorities and Bebat recognize that dismantling and safe recycling of electric vehicle batteries are crucial for this growing market.

E-mobility: where are we and what can we still learn ?

From electric bikes to drones: discover the popularity of e-mobility in our country, how we manage the batteries of all these vehicles and what we can learn for the future.

All about the rechargeable hybrid car

Combining thermal engine and electric engine (s), the rechargeable hybrid car transforms our gaze on the automobile. More respectful of the environment, more flexible in its use, this category of vehicles benefits from the most recent technologies in terms of motorization and recharge of batteries.

What is the rechargeable hybrid car ?

They are also called “Phev”, to Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. THE Rechargeable hybrid cars use a thermal motor and an electric motorization on rechargeable battery. These two parts work either in concert, or alternately: we will therefore be able to drive either in 100 % electric, or in 100 % thermal, or in combined mode. RENAULT vehicles of this type go from one engine to another, the start -up always taking place in electric. Specificity of the Renault E-Tech range, this 100 % electric start is explained by the presence of a dedicated engine (an alternator-starter) which generates the first rounds of the wheel.

The rechargeable hybrid car can therefore connect to the mains. The autonomy won by recharging the battery allows the vehicle to drive in 100 % electric for several tens of kilometers. This recharging can be done at home (on standard sockets, on reinforced models of the UPTM type or on a wallbox) or on a public terminal up to 22kW.

How the rechargeable hybrid works ?

On the principle of a hybrid car, a rechargeable hybrid car combines the operation of a thermal car and that of an electric vehicle. Two types of engines coexist: one, thermal, uses a fuel tank to store its energy, the other, electric, draws from a real electric traction battery (different from the battery dedicated to accessories).

A rechargeable hybrid car moves through the action of the electric motor at start -up, then during the drum phases on battery, as soon as it is sufficiently recharged. If this is not the case, especially to browse long journeys without recharge, it is powered by a petrol engine.

The engines of a rechargeable hybrid car

Linked together by a power distributor who arbitrates the energy source of the traction, two to three engines coexist in a rechargeable hybrid vehicle.
The heat engine, supplied with fuel, can propel the rechargeable hybrid car; its power leading to a transmission tree that turns to advance the vehicle.
One with two electric motors are also installed. They are asked for rolling according to the battery life, that is to say as soon as it has been recharged on the mains and/or thanks to the energy recovery. The electric motor is also requested at start -up in 100 % of cases on Renault vehicles. It offers optimal torque and power, and alone ensures the traction of the vehicle for several tens of kilometers.

How is a rechargeable hybrid car recharging ?

The battery of a rechargeable hybrid car connects to an electricity source via a socket generally located on the side of the car opposite the fuel hatch. A charging cable then connects the vehicle to a charging station, whether domestic or public.

A rechargeable hybrid car thus finds autonomy at home, by means of a classic socket, a reinforced socket (type Green’uptm) or a wallbox, these devices installed by professionals and which offer powers Important charging. In public space, the terminals with a power of up to 22kW, whether they are in town, in parking or in a motorway area, also recharge the batteries of rechargeable hybrids. From 3.7 kW minimum, the recharging time decreases half compared to a classic socket. As with 100 % electric vehicles, the charging points to find electricity autonomy are multiplying.

The rechargeable hybrid car also finds a few kilometers of autonomy during the deceleration and recovery braking. This gives him a complementary energy gain in recharge on taking. Indeed, at driving, the battery benefits from the recovery of kinetic energy, a technology integrated into all the hybrid and electric vehicles of Renault Group. The driver can also, to optimize energy recovery, activate the Mode B, which increases the deceleration when we release the acceleration pedal without braking. A pleasant way of regaining autonomy, especially in town, modulating its speed with a single pedal.

The autonomy of a rechargeable hybrid car

Its autonomy depends on the size of its battery and that of its fuel tank. Let us be particularly interested in the autonomy of the rechargeable hybrid vehicle in 100 % electric mode: this is the moment when the car does not consume fossil fuel, nor emitted greenhouse gases or polluting particle at the ‘exhaust. For a rechargeable hybrid car, such as the Renault Captur E-Tech Plug-in, a lithium-ion battery offers 50 kilometers of action radius in the mixed cycle WLTP*. What largely cover daily journeys (home-work for example) in 100 % electric mode, without having to go to the gas station.
Another value, total autonomy, gives the vehicle’s radius of action after a full of fuel and full recharge: the fact that the tank of a rechargeable hybrid is a little less bulky than that of an equivalent equivalent thermal model is offset by electrical autonomy.

How much is a rechargeable hybrid ?

The price depends on the models chosen and the level of finish. For the time being, and taking into account the novelty of this technology, this cost is higher than that of an equivalent thermal model in power (of the order of 19 % on Renault Captur E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid, for example , excluding grants). However, the cost of the PHEV is compensated by the possible bonuses for purchase in different countries (see below). The energy consumption of a rechargeable hybrid vehicle also implies a cost for lower use, the passages to the Assembly station being less frequent thanks to the regular electric recharges of the vehicle. Thus, the fuel consumption of vehicles in the Renault E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid range decreases by 75 % compared to thermal vehicles, provided you use the electric motor on a daily basis and by carrying out a recharge per day if necessary

What is the difference between hybrid and rechargeable hybrid ?

The principle of the rechargeable hybrid car stems directly from hybrid technology. However, the possibility of recharging the vehicle at a stop, in a recharge terminal at home or on the public highway, implies differences between hybrid car and rechargeable hybrid car. A rechargeable hybrid thus has a larger battery, and therefore of greater capacity, which offers it greater autonomy in 100 % electric mode.
In the Renault range, there is a classic hybrid version of the Clio, the Hybrid Clio e-tech, and rechargeable hybrid vehicles, such as the Captur E-Tech Plug-in hybrid or the megane e-tech plug-in hybrid. Each offers various uses to its drivers.

What are the advantages of the rechargeable hybrid car for the user ?

With an electric motor on rechargeable battery, a rechargeable hybrid car can make all daily trips in 100 % electric mode, for a electrical mobility at low energy and environmental cost.

Incorporating a thermal engine, a rechargeable hybrid car has access to the widen network of service stations and has a autonomy similar to a petrol car with a full.

The two cumulative engines therefore cover the most widespread uses of a car. In town, and for daily journeys mixing urban part, road and highway, 100 % electric mode will be acclaimed. With daily recharging for example, its owner is driving without emissions to the exhaust. The heat engine takes over on long distance journeys. Rechargeable hybrid cars are therefore enough to cover weekly needs over a few tens of kilometers in 100 % electric (50 kilometers WLTP* on a Renault e-Tech Plug-in Hybrid model) and from further on, on weekends or on vacation For example, with the relay of the heat engine without having to worry about charging questions.

What a bonus for the purchase of a rechargeable hybrid car ?

In France, rechargeable hybrid cars benefit from a subsidy provided that the vehicles acquired can perform at least 50 kilometers in all-electric. A conversion bonus and/or an ecological bonus can facilitate the purchase. Germany has developed a bonus for purchase and a reduction in the traffic tax for rechargeable hybrids, just like the Netherlands. Norway has taxed the purchase of rechargeable hybrid vehicles, whether personal or professional. And Great Britain gives tax advantages to owners of rechargeable company vehicles.

European countries are showing their interest in this technology and replacing the thermal car fleet with electrified models, as incentive policies voted in recent years are numerous.

Practical and innovative, the rechargeable hybrid car combines the possibilities offered by electric and thermal. Like 100 % electric vehicles and non-rechargeable hybrids, these models, such as the Renault Captur E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid or the Megane E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid, embody the progressive electrification of mobility.

* WLTP Autonomy in mixed cycle (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure, Standardized Cycle: 57 % urban journeys, 25 % of peri-urban journeys, 18 % of motorway journeys).

Copyrights: Hill Dave, Planimoner, Jean-Brice Lemal