Hybrid cars have become a household name in all developed countries of the world. Hybrid car technology has been worked upon since early twentieth century. Toyota motors launched the first commercial hybrid car called Prius in 1997. The world saw in hybrid technology a saviour, who would save our environment from the devastating carbon emissions from the automobiles.

Taking the lead from Toyota other car makers have also experimented and developed hybrid technology. A number of major car makers have announced launch of their hybrid cars. Honda was the second Japanese automaker to launch their mild hybrid cars, the Insight and the Civic hybrid. Lexus- the luxury car division of Toyota has successfully introduced hybrid cars in its luxury cars line-up.

Hybrid cars use two power sources, an electric motor and a petrol engine. In a full hybrid, like the Toyota Prius, the electric motor powers the car at low speeds. At higher speeds the petrol engine takes over. The electric motor kicks in when extra power is required. Regenerative braking energy charges the batteries of the car.

One interesting fact about hybrid cars is that they can operate on both the engines solely too. Most drivers prefer to use both the engines because that is the primary reason they bought it. But still, the fact that you have a choice to battery operate, use gasoline or combination of both to drive your car can be very liberating.

Hybrid cars require regular service and maintenance as conventional cars do. The batteries of a hybrid car are very expensive but the pack comes in the form of 36 modules. You do not have to replace all batteries if any one of them stops working; only replace the one that is not working. This way, repair of a hybrid car is not very expensive.

There are certain myths associated with hybrid cars which are basically incorrect. The first concern is about hybrid cars safety. People think that because hybrid cars are made from lighter body parts, in case of an accident the passengers are at greater risk. Secondly, they think that in case of a crash, passengers can be exposed to electric shock from the high voltage electrical system. The Toyota Prius has scored a five star safety rating in NCAP Euro tests. The same is the case for the Lexus hybrid cars. Therefore this myth is baseless.

In the United States, hybrid car owners are given a tax break of about $2000-$3000. This is an advantage for people who are paying heavy taxes in these difficult times. The record sales of hybrid cars started with the onset of the year 2004. In the year 2000, only 9500 vehicles were sold in the US. This number increased ten folds in the year 2004, and a total number of 88000 hybrid vehicles were sold out. The sales recorded in the year 2006 crossed 254,545, and it has remained on a rise since then.

The future of hybrid or fully electric operated cars is very bright. There has been much talk by automobile manufacturers about converting hybrid cars on plug-in technology. Environmentalists are greatly in favour of this idea as they feel it is way easier to control the pollution output of power companies.