What is a hybrid vehicle?

This blog post was brought to you by our friends at WeFlex.

A hybrid vehicle combines two energy components: petrol and electricity. It can switch between both engines or combine them depending on the situation. Instead of plugging in the battery to charge like you would with a pure electric car, a hybrid vehicle recharges itself as you drive. The electricity makes the car produce very low greenhouse emissions and makes it cheap to run, especially in cities when you’re moving slower and able to drive on the battery alone. A hybrid is not only good for the planet, but for your pocket too!

To highlight the benefits, we’ve compared a hybrid vehicle to a normal petrol/diesel vehicle in terms of the environment and running costs:

Environmental benefits:

• A hybrid vehicle has far lower CO2 emissions and runs a cleaner, making it better for the environment.
• Due to running on a twin powered engine, hybrids do more miles to the gallon, cutting fuel consumption and conserving energy.
• Hybrids are made with lighter materials, including a smaller engine, requiring less energy to run them.
• Hybrids have automatic Stop and Start, which reduces energy being used unnecessarily.

Running costs:

The beauty of hybrid vehicles is that they are powered by petrol as well as electricity, which charges as you drive, meaning you need less fuel. Here is how much you save on fuel:

Because they are a fairly new concept, hybrid vehicles can be pricey. With the UK government placing a ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2030, though, the move to electric is imminent, with more and more businesses incentivising people to switch to hybrids or EVs.

To make that switch more affordable, WeFlex are offering hybrids from just £176 a month to the Karshare community, as part of the Lease and Share scheme. This short-term car lease enables drivers to share their hybrids with others in their community, making electric even more accessible!

Find out more about Lease and Share by reading Johnny’s story.

Karshare also has a range of hybrid and electric cars already available on the platform to be rented out in Bristol, from Toyota Prius Plus to Mitsubishi Outlander.

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