how do hybrid-electric engines work and have much greater efficiency than standard gas engines?
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You need to burn energy when a car goes vroom. That energy is wasted when the car slows down or brakes.
Regenerate braking converts some of that lost energy into electricity to recharge your car battery.
Hybrid cars take it a bit further. Hybrid cars have a larger battery that charges from regenerative braking and when the combustion engine spins. Hybrid cars also have one or more electric motors in addition to the combustion motor to convert electrical power to motion.
This means that the combustion motor can be smaller since the electric motors also contribute, increasing efficiency. You also don’t need the combustion motor working when the car is stopped or when you don’t need the full power of the car, saving gas. Regenerative braking also allows you to reuse some of the energy which is why hybrid cars have better mileage in the city where you brake a lot vs. On highways.
Plug-in hybrids have even bigger batteries and electric motors, allowing you to go some distance on electric only.
Battery electric vehicles get rid of the combustion engine entirely.
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