page_title: Plug-in hybrid
section_title: Powertrains
hierarchical_section_title: Plug-in hybrid / Technology / Powertrains
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: IAA 2011 - Internationale Automobilausstellung in Frankfurt/Main English: Production Prius Plug-in Hybrid unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show
context_page_description: A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery can be recharged by plugging it into an external source of electric power, as well as by its on-board engine and generator. Most PHEVs are passenger cars, but there are also PHEV versions of commercial vehicles and vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, scooters, and military vehicles.
  Similarly to all-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids displace emissions from the car tailpipe to the generators powering the electricity grid. These generators may be renewable, or may have lower emission than an internal combustion engine. Charging the battery from the grid can cost less than using the on-board engine, helping to reduce operating cost.
  Mass-produced plug-in hybrids were available to the public in China and the United States in 2010. By the end of 2017, there were over 40 models of series-production highway legal plug-in hybrids for retail sales. Plug-in hybrid cars are available mainly in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, and China. The top-selling models are the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, the Chevrolet Volt family, and the Toyota Prius PHV.
context_section_description: PHEVs are based on the same three basic powertrain architectures of conventional hybrids; a series hybrid is propelled by electric motors only, a parallel hybrid is propelled both by its internal combustion engine and by electric motors operating concurrently, and a series-parallel hybrid operates in either mode. While a plain hybrid vehicle charges its battery from its engine only, a plug-in hybrid can obtain a significant amount of the energy required to recharge its battery from external sources.
caption: The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid is a series-parallel hybrid.
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