7 Hybrid and electric vehicles

Electricity has been used to propel road vehicles since the 19^th century, initially using batteries. Petrol-electric hybrid drive systems (without batteries) were developed in the early 20^th century to avoid the difficulties of having to use a gearbox. This section looks at modern hybrid electric vehicles, using batteries, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) where the battery can be recharged from the mains, and full battery electric vehicles (BEVs).