Differences between a hybrid car and a mild hybrid even though both carry the ECO label

The hybrid car market is growing exponentially in recent years. Electric cars are beginning to become popular and are appearing in dealerships to offer electric mobility, completely clean. But before that full transition to electric vehicles, it is the time of hybrid vehicles, which combine a traditional combustion engine with an electric one.

And in that market we find three types of hybrids: full hybrids, which combine both engines but are powered by the electricity they generate themselves; plug-in hybrids, which in addition to generating their own electricity can be connected to the electrical grid; and mild hybrids, which use a newer technology and have a completely different concept from the previous two.

Hybrid vehicles

Hybrid vehicles use the alternator and other systems such as regenerative braking to generate electricity, which is then stored in batteries. Thanks to this, hybrid cars can use the electric motor to assist the combustion engine at specific moments and take advantage of that energy to avoid higher polluting emissions.

The batteries of a hybrid car allow the electric motor to be used for a short period of time, which makes it very practical for city driving. However, they usually do not have a great range, which is reduced to a few kilometres. Fuel consumption drops considerably in a hybrid car, though not as much as in a plug-in hybrid car, which has a more powerful electric motor system and, above all, batteries of greater capacity.

Mild hybrid cars

Unlike a hybrid car, the car with Mild Hybrid, which is how this system is known, has a low-power motor. It develops between 5 and 12 CV, which is insufficient to move the car. It cannot even be used for small manoeuvres, such as parking. But its function is different.

The electricity comes from a reversible alternator. This works like the starter motor, but also generates the electricity that is stored in 48-volt batteries. This electricity is used not only to power the car’s electric motor, but mainly to power other electrical systems, which, by drawing electricity from this point, do not need electricity from the alternator, avoiding that this energy is generated by running the engine. This saves fuel, but in reality the difference with a traditional car is small.

The car’s electric motor is used to provide occasional support to the combustion unit, raising the power delivered at a given moment, but not to offer a complete electric mobility solution. So, is a mild hybrid car worth it?

If you compare it with a hybrid car, the fuel saving is much smaller, but it helps you use slightly less fuel. In addition, it allows the electrical components to be more efficient by having a power supply that does not “draw” on the electricity generated by the alternator. This means the car suffers less wear and the electrical system has another source of power.

To save on fuel, the most efficient vehicle is the plug-in hybrid, followed by the hybrid and, lastly, the vehicle with light hybridisation or Mild Hybrid. Even so, using a car with this system is still a good idea and helps generate fewer polluting emissions and lower consumption.

Mild hybrid technology opens the door to the hybrid market and represents an important advance in automotive technology before the definitive step, if it ever happens, to the fully electric car. It should be noted that currently mild hybrid cars are considered eligible for the ECO label, like hybrid cars, although there are voices in the industry that make it doubtful they can use it.