Dependence of Environmental Performance of Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles on Distance Traveled

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) have two driving modes, which are known as charge-depleting (CD) mode and charge-sustaining (CS) mode. The environmental performance of a PHV differs greatly based on the travel distance when the PHV switches from the CD mode to the CS mode. This paper focuses on the low-carbon effect and energy cost reduction effect of PHVs and numerically describes the dependence of the effects on the distance traveled. It also accounts new knowledge obtained through a detailed analysis and examination of the mathematical equations.