how does a hybrid car work?

The vehicle manages switching between the electric, hybrid and combustion traction automatically using an electronic system. It takes three criteria into account to offer the best compromise between performance and consumption:

• the demand for acceleration from the pedal;
  
• the type of road on which you are driving;
  
• the battery charge level.

As the vehicle starts, during steady driving and normal acceleration, a hybrid vehicle mostly uses the electric motor. When you push down harder on the accelerator, when the nature of the terrain requires more power (e.g. for a steep climb) or when the battery is not sufficiently charged, the vehicle engages the combustion engine. Depending on the case, the combustion engine will complement the electric motor (hybrid traction) or replace it entirely (combustion engine traction).

No, it’s not possible.

A hybrid car continues to drive, even when the traction battery is depleted, by using the combustion engine. However, the opposite is not true: the hybrid and electric traction modes are there to operate alternately with the combustion mode, but not to replace it entirely. If a hybrid car has run out of petrol, the other modes of traction can only take over briefly before the car stops.

The electric battery is not always used, as the vehicle also operates using the combustion engine. The wear on the battery is therefore gradual and does not provoke a sufficient loss of capacity to prevent the vehicle from operating.

Moreover, if the vehicle is protected from extreme temperatures, particularly the cold, it can last for a hybrid vehicle’s entire life span.

The battery in a Renault hybrid vehicle is guaranteed for 8 years or 100, 000 miles.