Mild Hybrid

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Mild Hybrid

Mild hybrids are essentially conventional vehicle

Vehicle

Vehicles, derived from the Latin word, vehiculum, are non-living means of transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks....
s with oversized starter motors, allowing the engine

Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
to be turned off whenever the car is coasting, braking, or stopped, yet restart quickly and cleanly. Accessories can continue to run on electrical power while the engine is off. The larger motor is used to spin the engine up to operating rpm speeds before injecting any fuel.

Many people do not consider these to be hybrids at all since they do not have hybrid drivetrains (there is no electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical energy, nearly always by the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors....
to drive the vehicle), they don't have the same level of battery storage and do not achieve the fuel economy

Fuel economy in automobiles

Fuel economy in automobiles is the amount of fuel required to move the automobile over a given distance. While the fuel efficiency of petroleum internal combustion engine has improved markedly in recent decades, , this does not necessarily translate into better fuel economy, if larger and heavier vehicles are used, or if that effici...
of full hybrid models.

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Encyclopedia

Mild hybrids are essentially conventional vehicle

Vehicle

Engine

Electric motor

Fuel economy in automobiles

Pickup truck

A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads....
. Chevrolet was able to get a 10% improvement on the Silverado's fuel efficiency by shutting down and restarting the engine on demand. Mild hybrids often use 36–48 volt systems to supply the power needed for the startup motor, as well as to compensate for the increasing number of electronic accessories on modern vehicles. GM's Belt alternator starter

Belt alternator starter

General Motors Corporation introduced a mild hybrid system called belt alternator starter in the 2007 Saturn Vue and Saturn Aura. It operates similarly to the "start-stop" system used in the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid in that it shuts down the engine as the vehicle comes to a stop and instantly restarts it when the brake pedal is released....
mild hybrid system uses a belt drive to start the internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs in a combustion chamber inside and integral to the engine. In an internal combustion engine it is always the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases that are produced by the combustion which apply force to the movable component of the engine, such as...
(ICE) through its motor–generator unit (MGU), then once started the ICE drives the MGU as a generator to charge the 36-volt and 12 V batteries. The BAS Hybrid system also utilizes regenerative braking. Torque from the drive wheels during engine braking (coasting and deceleration) ultimately drives the crankshaft pulley and belt, and subsequently allows the MGU to generate electricity that is used to replenish the system's 36 V battery.

Compared to a "full" hybrid vehicle, however, mild hybrids may provide some of the benefits of the application of hybrid technologies, with less of the cost–weight penalty that is incurred by installing the parallel (electric) hybrid drivetrain. Fuel savings would generally be lower than expected with use of a full hybrid design, as the design does not normally allow regenerative braking or the use of smaller, lighter, more efficient internal combustion engines. BMW, however, succeeded in combining regenerative braking with the mild hybrid "start-stop system

Start-stop system

File:Start-stop system.jpgA start-stop system automatically shuts down and restarts an automobile's internal combustion engine to reduce the amount of time the engine spends idle speed, thereby improving Fuel economy in automobiles....
" in their current 1-series model.

Makes and models

Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid (PHT)
Saturn Vue
Saturn VUE

The Saturn Vue is a Compact SUV crossover SUV from General Motors' Saturn Corporation marque, and was Saturn's top-selling model in the United States until the Saturn Aura outsold it in the summer of 2008....
Greenline model
Saturn Aura
Saturn Aura

The Saturn Aura is a mid-size car produced under the Saturn Corporation brand of United States automaker General Motors. It debuted as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in January 2005....
Greenline model
Chevrolet Malibu
Chevrolet Malibu

The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car produced in the United States by General Motors. It is marketed in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Middle East....
2008-current BAS Hybrid model

During the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijng in August, Chinese automobile manufacturer Chang'an Motors

Chang'an Motors

Chang'an Automobile Co., Ltd. is an industrial manufacturer in Chongqing, China. The company has three joint ventures to build automobiles with Chinese, Japanese, and Western auto companies, and plans to build self-designed models for export in the near future....
supplied a number of hybrid-drive cars as taxis for the athletes and spectators. The power electronics for the "mild hybrid" drive was supplied by Infineon .

Toyota sold a mild hybrid version of the luxurious Toyota Crown

Toyota Crown

The Crown has evolved into a line of full-size luxury car by Toyota. The range was primarily available in Japan and some other Asian countries, originally designed to serve as a taxi....
only for the Japanese domestic market. Fuel economy was increased vastly when compared with the standard 3.0 V6 petrol unit. Toyota now sells a full hybrid with an electric motor for the new 2008 Toyota Crown.

MINI

MINI (BMW)

Mini is a British automotive brand owned by the BMW that has produced the successor of the original Mini in Oxford, England since April 2001. three body variants are available: Hatchback, Convertible, Pickup Truck and Clubman ....
have mild hybrid technology in all of their vehicles sold in Europe.

The Smart Fortwo

Smart Fortwo

The Smart Fortwo is a rear-engined two-seater car manufactured by Smart and introduced at the 1998 Paris Motor Show. Initially named the Smart City Coupe, the fortwo has now entered its second generation, and in 2008 an all electric concept version of the model, the fortwo ed debuted....
microhybrid sold in Europe is a mild hybrid.

Citroën

Citroën

Citro?n is a France automobile manufacturer, founded in 1919 by Andr? Citro?n, it was the world's first mass-production car company outside of the USA....
proposes a stop and start system on its C2

Citroën C2

The Citro?n C2 is a supermini car produced by the France manufacturer Citro?n since 2003. A completely different car, based on the Peugeot 206, is sold in China as the C2....
and C3

Citroën C3

The Citro?n C3 is a supermini car with a range of inline-4 engines that has been produced by the French automaker Citro?n since 2002. It was designed by Donato Coco and Jean-Pierre Plou?, previously known for designing the Renault Twingo; the former has been the head of the Citro?n design team since 1999....
models . The concept-car C5 Airscape has an improved version of that, adding regenerative braking and traction assistance functionalities, and ultracapacitors for energy buffering .

VW brought two concept cars to Shanghai for the Challenge Bibendum.