The weight of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is generally higher than that of a regular hybrid due to the significantly larger battery pack in PHEVs.
Key reasons for weight differences:
- Both regular hybrids and PHEVs combine an internal combustion engine with an electric motor and use regenerative braking to recharge their batteries.
- Regular hybrids have a relatively small battery, roughly around 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh), designed to store energy recovered from braking and assist the engine but not to provide substantial electric-only driving range.
- PHEVs, by contrast, have battery packs about 10 to 20 times larger than those in regular hybrids. This larger battery enables PHEVs to run on electric power alone for roughly 20 to 50 miles before the gasoline engine engages, which adds significant extra weight to the vehicle.
- The added capacity and weight of the PHEV battery pack leads to a heavier overall vehicle weight compared to a standard hybrid, which has a smaller battery and no requirement to be plugged in for charging.
In summary, PHEVs are noticeably heavier than regular hybrids primarily because of their much larger batteries designed for extended electric-only driving ranges. This added weight can slightly reduce fuel efficiency when the battery is depleted and the vehicle operates in hybrid mode, but the trade-off is the ability to drive significant distances on electric power alone.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/how-does-the-weight-of-a-phev-compare-to-a-regular-hybrid/
