2012-13 Hybrid Vehicles Guide

A quick reference to the latest production HEVs and their key specifications.

Whether you call it a proliferation, or an explosion, the growth of the global hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) segment cannot be denied. No longer the province of a few players-although one model, the Toyota Prius, predominates as a percentage of total sales-HEV engineering and development is now a focus of every major OEM as well as a raft of start-ups.

SAE Magazines has been reporting on the rise of HEVs since Prius originally launched in Japan in 1997. As the number of production models and types of hybrid-propulsion systems have expanded, SAE International members have commented on the growing need for a single-source guide to the HEV space. Which OEMs have hybrids? What types of powertrains are being used? What about the batteries and their suppliers?