The Fast Lane

Earlier this year, Toyota announced that they have sold a million hybrid vehicles all over the world.  That shows how car buyers around the world are receiving these eco-friendly machines.  And recently, Frost & Sullivan conducted a study which shows that more hybrids will be sold in the near future especially on developed countries.

The research company recently highlighted the advantages of hybrid vehicles which employs smaller engines. These advantages as reported by The Auto Channel are:

• Smaller the engine, lesser the weight. This makes HEVs lightweight compared with conventional vehicles, which makes the former consume less energy than the latter during uphill drives.
• The internal components and pistons are small for a small engine, and therefore, less energy is consumed for its operation.
• The displacement of engine cylinders are small for a small engine, and hence fuel usage is reduced.
• HEVs use regenerative braking mechanism by means of which energy is stored in the battery when the brake pedal is applied. This stored energy is utilized for the vehicle’s operation, thereby minimizing the strain on engines.
• When a HEV is stopped at red lights, the engine can be turned off and operated on electric motor and battery, thereby minimizing the fuel usage to a significant extent.
  

These advantages are expected to attract more and more auto buyers in Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.  Frost & Sullivan's Suba Swaminathan, Team Leader for Power Systems Group said:  "The advantage that a HEV offers with regard to construction and design aspects is that the engine designed in a HEV is small, which makes these vehicles more efficient."

He added: "Although hybrids are available in the automobile market for the past 10 years and are not as popular as conventional vehicles, the advantages of using hybrids are more with regard to economical and environmental aspects.  One of the advantages of using HEVs is: improved fuel economy. Hybrids require much lesser fuel than conventional vehicles, offering greater savings on fuel costs. Another advantage is improved efficiency. In fact, they offer more mileage compared with conventional vehicles, which makes HEVs require minimal gas. They are environment friendly; hybrids have much lesser greenhouse gas emissions, and are therefore capable of reducing the smog-forming pollutants in the atmosphere; tax credits and incentives. Finally, many governments across different countries promote HEVs by offering tax credits and incentives that make HEVs affordable."