Gear Shifting Strategy to Improve the Parallel Hybrid Vehicle Fuel Consumption

The hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is an alternative to reduce the engine fuel consumption due to the extra electrical power addition in the system that allows changing the engine operation point for a better efficiency region. The gear shifting strategy is a way to modify the engine operation point and it can be combined with the power management strategy to reach a better operational condition. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of the gear shifting strategy in the HEV configuration, comparing a conventional 1.0L vehicle with a parallel HEV.