A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.

Pritish Kumar explained about the hybrid vehicle which is driven through two power source

The basic principle with hybrid vehicles is that the different motors work better at different speeds; the electric motor is more efficient at producing torque, or turning power, and the combustion engine is better for maintaining high speed (better than a typical electric motor). Switching from one to the other at the proper time while speeding up yields a win-win in terms of energy efficiency, as such that translates into greater fuel efficiency,

Vehicle type

Two-wheeled and cycle-type vehicles

Mopeds, electric bicycles, and even electric kick scooters are a simple form of a hybrid, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and the rider’s muscles. Early prototype motorcycles in the late 19th century used the same principle.

In a parallel hybrid bicycle human and motor torques are mechanically coupled at the pedal or one of the wheels, e.g. using a hub motor, a roller pressing onto a tire, or a connection to a wheel using a transmission element. Most motorized bicycles, mopeds are of this type.

In a series hybrid bicycle (SHB) (a kind of chainless bicycle) the user pedals a generator, charging a battery or feeding the motor, which delivers all of the torque required. They are commercially available, being simple in theory and manufacturing.

A series hybrid electric-petroleum bicycle (SHEPB) is powered by pedals, batteries, a petrol generator, or plug-in charger – providing flexibility and range enhancements over electric-only bicycles.

Heavy vehicle

Hybrid power trains use diesel-electric or turbo-electric to power railway locomotives, buses, heavy goods vehicles, mobile hydraulic machinery, and ships. A diesel/turbine engine drives an electric generator or hydraulic pump, which powers electric/hydraulic motors – strictly an electric/hydraulic transmission (not a hybrid), unless it can accept power from outside. With large vehicles, conversion losses decrease and the advantages in distributing power through wires or pipes rather than mechanical elements become more prominent, especially when powering multiple drives

Engine type

Hybrid electric-petroleum vehicles

When the term hybrid vehicle is used, it most often refers to a Hybrid electric vehicle. These encompass such vehicles as the Saturn Vue, Toyota Prius, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h, and 450h, Hyundai, and others. A petroleum-electric hybrid most commonly uses internal combustion engines (using a variety of fuels, generally gasoline or Diesel engines) and electric motors to power the vehicle. The energy is stored in the fuel of the internal combustion engine and an electric battery set. There are many types of petroleum-electric hybrid drivetrains, from Full hybrid to Mild hybrid, which offer varying advantages and disadvantages.

Continuously outboard recharged electric vehicle

Some battery electric vehicles can be recharged while the user drives. Such a vehicle establishes contact with an electrified rail, plate, or overhead wires on the highway via an attached conducting wheel or other similar mechanisms (see conduit current collection). The vehicle’s batteries are recharged by this process—on the highway—and can then be used normally on other roads until the battery is discharged. For example, some of the battery-electric locomotives used for maintenance trains on the London Underground are capable of this mode of operation.

Hybrid fuel (dual mode)

In addition to vehicles that use two or more different devices for propulsion, some also consider vehicles that use distinct energy sources or input types (“fuels”) using the same engine to be hybrids, although to avoid confusion with hybrids as described above and to use correctly the terms, these are perhaps more correctly described as dual mode vehicles:

1)Some electric trolleybuses can switch between an onboard diesel engine and overhead electrical power depending on conditions (see dual mode bus). In principle, this could be combined with a battery subsystem to create a true plug-in hybrid trolleybus, although as of 2006, no such design seems to have been announced.

2)Flexible-fuel vehicles can use a mixture of input fuels mixed in one tank — typically gasoline and ethanol, methanol, or biobutanol.

3)Bi-fuel vehicle: Liquified petroleum gas and natural gas are very different from petroleum or diesel and cannot be used in the same tanks, so it would be challenging to build an (LPG or NG) flexible fuel system

Hybrid vehicle emissions

Hybrid vehicle emissions today are getting close to or even lower than the recommended level set by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The recommended levels they suggest for a typical passenger vehicle should be equated to 5.5 metric tons of CO2. The three most popular hybrid vehicles, Honda Civic, Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, set the standards even higher by producing 4.1, 3.5, and 3.5 tons showing a major improvement in carbon dioxide emissions. Hybrid vehicles can reduce air emissions of smog-forming pollutants by up to 90% and cut carbon dioxide emissions in half.

More fossil fuel is needed to build hybrid vehicles than conventional cars but reduced emissions when running the vehicle more than outweigh this.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle