Why PHEV Engines Always Turn On
Posted by Max Dunn Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:40:00 GMT
One downside to current plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) is that the gas motor always turns on when first starting out. At the Plug-in 2008 conference I asked Elizabeth from A123/Hymotion why this was and she said that the engine needed to turn on for about 57 seconds when first starting out to warm up the catalytic converter, otherwise the car wouldn’t pass smog tests. It is too bad that on short trips the gas engine still needs to turn on, but at less than a minute this shouldn’t waste too much gas.