13 Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Motor drive – DC-to-AC inverter using IGBTs. Top speed – 75 mi/h Range – 90 miles on highway. Acceleration – 0–60 miles in 8.5 s. Vehicle weight – 2,900 lbs. The vehicle was used as a testbed for mass production of EVs. 1.6.4.2 Saturn EV1 • Commercially available EV made by GM in 1995. • Leased in California and Arizona for a total cost of about $30,000. • System and characteristics: Motor – One, three-phase induction motor Battery-pack – Lead–acid batteries Motor Drive – DC-to-AC inverter using IGBTs. Top Speed – 75 mi/h Range – 90 miles in highway, 70 miles in city. Acceleration – 0–60 miles in 8.5 s. • Power consumption:
30 kWh/100 miles in city, 25 kWh/100 miles in highway. This vehicle was also used as a testbed for mass production of EVs. 1.6.5 r ecenT eV s and heV s The manufacturers of EVs in the 1990s faced a stiff challenge as their significant research and development efforts on ZEV technologies have been hindered by unsuitable battery technolo- gies. A number of auto industries started developing hybrid vehicles to overcome the battery and range problem of battery-powered EVs. The Japanese auto industries led this trend with Toyota and Honda entering the market from the late 1990s with their Prius and Insight model hybrids.
The Honda Insight using a mild parallel hybrid system and the Toyota Prius with a series–parallel hybrid architecture typify the two modern schools of thought regarding passenger hybrid vehicles. The Insight utilizes a simple lightweight parallel powertrain featuring a single electric machine and a high- voltage battery-pack. The electric machine is an integrated starter/generator serving as a starter motor, generator and assist traction motor. The hybrid systems in the Honda Civic Hybrid are similar to that of the Insight. The vehicle has high parts interchangeability with their conventional sibling and delivers the benefits of hybridization without introducing high costs.
The powertrain systems in the Ford Escape Hybrid and the GM Two-Mode hybrids are similar to that of the Prius with relatively complex and expensive power-split systems. The systems have one IC engine and two electric machines. These systems get the most benefit possible from a hybrid system, and therefore, offer the greatest increase in fuel efficiency, but are also more expensive to produce than a mild hybrid. The HEVs use both an electric motor and an IC engine, but all of the propulsion energy ultimately comes from the gasoline fuel. Currently, a number of production hybrid vehicle models are available from almost all the major automotive industries around the world.
In 2020, 76 different models of HEVs are available from 13 different manufacturers. Six of these HEVs from six different manufacturers with the best fuel economy are given in Table 1.2 [7]. HEVs have penetrated the market at an extraordinary rate in the first decade of the 21st century, but EVs did not fall too far behind. BEVs started making their way back in the later part of the decade due to the niche market demand, advances in battery technology and pioneering efforts by