Parallel Hybrid Car

In a parallel hybrid, the electric motor and gasoline engine work together (in parallel) to power the vehicle forward. With Honda's Integrated Motor Assist technology, the high torque electric motor helps the gasoline engine under an increased load, like driving up a hill or quick acceleration. While coasting, the electric motor bows out and the gasoline engine powers the vehicle.

The difference between a parallel hybrid configuration and a split configuration is that the parallel configuration has both power sources contributing to the same drive train, while a split configuration will have one power source per axel. At the time of this writing, parallel configurations exist in the Honda Insight and Honda Civic, while the Toyota Prius uses a combination of series and parallel configurations.

View other configurations:

Series Hybrid
Split Hybrid
Mild Hybrid