Does a hybrid vehicle use electricity or fuel first?

[LaLillian]

Hybrid vehicles use electricity first. The powertrain of a hybrid electric vehicle mainly consists of a control system, drive system, auxiliary power system, and battery pack. When the vehicle starts moving, the battery is fully charged, and its energy output can meet the vehicle's requirements, so the auxiliary power system does not need to operate. Here is additional information: Hybrid vehicles: Hybrid vehicles offer high fuel efficiency and superior driving performance. The engine of a hybrid vehicle uses fuel, but during startup and acceleration, the assistance of an electric motor helps reduce fuel consumption. Simply put, compared to a similarly sized conventional car, hybrid vehicles have lower fuel costs.

[DeFaith]

I've been driving a hybrid car for three years, and it mostly uses electricity at startup. If you gently press the accelerator and coast slowly, the system intelligently drives with electricity, making it as quiet as an electric car. When starting from a red light or crawling in traffic, the pure electric mode is particularly fuel-efficient. However, as soon as you press the accelerator deeper or the battery drops below the set value, the engine quietly kicks in. Once, when driving on a mountain road with sufficient battery, it climbed the slope in pure electric mode for over ten minutes! Actually, the computer is better at calculating than we are—it automatically switches based on road conditions, so we just need to drive. The energy flow animation on the dashboard is especially intuitive.

[OEliza]

Hybrid vehicles utilize energy differently depending on driving conditions. During cold starts, 90% of models initially use the electric motor without engaging the combustion engine, eliminating idle noise and saving fuel. The gasoline engine only kicks in when speed reaches around 40 km/h or during hard acceleration for overtaking. From my observation, urban commuting relies 60% on electric power, while the engine becomes dominant on highways. The smartest feature is energy recovery during braking or downhill driving - I've even started using pure electric mode with AC recently, since a few brake applications can recharge the battery significantly.

[LaKarter]

The hybrid system has quite sophisticated strategies for using electricity and fuel. At low loads during startup, battery power is the most economical, with electricity consumption costing less than half of fuel consumption. When the battery is sufficiently charged and driving at a constant speed, some models can run up to sixty kilometers on pure electric power. However, during rapid acceleration or high-speed cruising, the system directly switches to the gasoline engine for higher efficiency. My cousin's plug-in hybrid car is set to battery hold mode, prioritizing fuel consumption during long trips to save electricity for urban driving, achieving a combined fuel consumption of just 4.2 liters.

[StAxel]

The energy switching of hybrid vehicles depends on the energy management strategy. Toyota hybrids primarily use electricity at low speeds, but the engine automatically starts to charge when the battery level drops below 20%. BYD DM-i operates as an electric vehicle when the battery is sufficiently charged, switching to hybrid mode only when the battery is depleted. It's most cost-effective in stop-and-go traffic; I use pure electric mode during my daily commute in traffic jams, as the motor provides ample low-speed torque and operates quietly. By the time the engine kicks in, the traffic jam is usually over. In winter, if the air conditioning is set to heating, the engine starts earlier to provide heat, which is much more energy-efficient than using the heater in a pure electric vehicle.