Hybrid vehicles are vehicles that rely on two or more power sources in order for the vehicle to move. Hybrid vehicle " often refers to electric and gasoline powered vehicles which have battery-driven electric motors and combustion engine. In early 20th century when almost all vehicles require gasoline in order to run, inventors started to think of some other ways in which cars could be powered, these include steam, battery powered electricity, fossil fuels and even combinations of these things. .
The first hybrid technology actually began in year 1900 where a Porsche designer used an all-electric vehicle and soon added a combustion engine in order to recharge the battery of the said electric powered car. In 1917, Woods Motor Company introduced a hybrid vehicle which ran on 4 cylinder combustion engine and had a top speed of 35 mph. General Motors also developed in 1968 a vehicle that was battery powered at low speed and gas at high speeds. In 1989, Audi introduced and experimental vehicle that combines a 140 horsepower combustion engine with a 12 horsepower electric motor which was then developed on the following years. Toyota Prius was introduced in 1997 when the Vice President of Toyota, Akihiro Wadi, was challenged to develop a fuel efficient vehicle due to its demand. It was first marketed in Japan, and in year 2000 Toyota Prius was marketed in United Stated. .
Honda also introduced their first hybrid car Insight in 1999. In year 2002, hybrid cars became common in the marketplace and more hybrid cars were developed over the few years. According to U.S. Department of Energy, the total the total hybrid cars sold as of 2012 was approximately 2,180,000 cars in the United States, 1,500,000 cars in Japan, 450,000 in Europe and about 4,500,000 total sales worldwide. Hybrid cars with the highest mileage was the Toyota Prius with 53 mpg, Honda Civic Hybrid with 44 mpg, Lexus CT 200h with 43 mpg, Honda insight with 41 mpg, Toyota Camry Hybrid with 40 mpg, Ford Fusion Hybrid with 41 mpg, and Hyundai Sonata Hybrid with 35 mpg.
