Petrol engines emit less nitrogen oxides than diesel engines, and produce insignificant levels of particulate matter. Diesel engines, on the other hand, are more fuel efficient and produce less carbon dioxide than petrol engines. Among non-petroleum power sources, electric vehicles, for example, are clean, but cannot deliver satisfying overall drive performance, acceptable driving range, and always have to be recharged.

But what if it were possible to combine different types of power sources and make them work together to enhance their respective benefits and reduce their obvious shortcomings?

This leap forward has been made through the creation of the Toyota Hybrid System, now one of the company’s core vehicle technologies.

Hybrid technology can be applied effectively to improve the efficiencies of a variety of power trains irrespective of the type of fuel used (gasoline, diesel, alternative fuels or fuel cell vehicles).

Hybrids not only deliver lower emissions and reduced fuel consumption, but they are completely silent when operating electrically and deliver impressive driving performance.

The revolutionary breakthrough achieved by hybrid technology is the intelligent management of the energy flows from two different power sources so that each dimension of driving – acceleration, open road, braking and stop-and-go – is performed in an optimal way.

This highly innovative solution consists of a petrol engine designed to minimize fuel consumption, combined with a zero-emission electric motor matched to a nickel metal hydride electric battery pack to provide additional power. Both of these power sources work together under the supervision of a sophisticated power management controller to deliver maximum overall driving efficiency.