Do hybrid cars have gear boxes?

Gear boxes are a familiar fixture on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with manual transmission. For motorists who have only ever driven a manual, selecting a lower gear for acceleration and a higher gear for fuel economy at speed is second nature. 

Battery electric vehicles (BEV) usually don’t need to change gears, as the electric motor can operate just fine across the full range of rpm. For this reason, in most cases, a fully electric car will not have a ‘gear box’ in the sense of a driver-selected manual transmission.

There are some exceptions to this, including electric cars with a manual gear box that actually has little effect, but it is there for drivers who prefer the familiarity of reaching for a gear stick. BEVs may also offer a choice of two forward gears and a reverse gear.

With all of this in mind, what about hybrids? With an ICE under the bonnet and an electric motor too, this raises the question: do hybrid cars have gear boxes?

A Brief History Of Manual Hybrids

It’s certainly true to say that some hybrid cars on the roads in recent years have offered manual transmission. Going back to 2010, the Honda CR-Z claimed its place as the world’s first six-speed manual hybrid car.

As we move towards fully electric cars, more and more hybrids are plug-in (PHEV), allowing the battery for the electric motor to be charged directly from the mains electricity supply, rather than by the ICE or regenerative braking.

It’s also important to know the difference between series and parallel hybrid drivetrains, which we’ve covered in detail before:

• Series (i.e. ‘in a line’) means the electric motor powers the wheels, and the ICE supplies power to the motor.
• Parallel (i.e. ‘side by side’) means either the electric motor OR the ICE can directly power the wheels.

In either case, the electric motor is connected to the wheels, which means there are good reasons why a manual transmission and a manual gear box are usually not the best solution.

Why Don’t Hybrids Have A Gear Box?

In a conventional ICE, the gear box selects the appropriate gear for the car’s speed. This ensures that the engine stays within an appropriate range of rpm or ‘revs’, while supplying enough torque to power the car, especially when accelerating or going uphill.

Electric cars don’t need this because, as mentioned, the motor can operate over the full range without any problems — accelerating at high speed is essentially the same as accelerating at low speed, as far as the motor is concerned.

Whether a hybrid car has a series or parallel drivetrain configuration, the electric motor is directly involved with turning the wheels. This means a manual gear box makes no sense for the electric part of the hybrid.

Now, what about the ICE element of a parallel hybrid? We’re all already familiar with ICEs being either manual or automatic, so when designing a hybrid, both options are available.

Making the ICE side of a parallel hybrid manual with a driver-selected gear box would add significant complexity to the design and construction. So ultimately, it’s just easier to make the whole transmission automatic.

Why Is An Automatic Hybrid Better?

If you’re a fan of manual gear boxes, try to keep an open mind, because there are several good reasons why an automatic hybrid is the better option.

Less Complexity

The simpler design and construction of a fully automatic hybrid drivetrain means there’s less to go wrong. Building a true manual transmission for an electric powertrain would be extremely complicated, and usually equates to expensive maintenance.

By opting for automatic transmission, the top hybrid cars and models on the present-day market can maximise reliability, as well as cost less to build in the first place.

More Efficient

Regardless of how good of a driver you are, we all find ourselves in the wrong gear from time to time, and many of us have picked up bad habits when it comes to accelerating to high speed before switching up.

Automatic transmission means you’re always in the right gear, and in the sense of the electric motor, there usually is only one gear anyway. Put your foot down, and that power is instantly available to you, no matter how fast you are already travelling.

Best Of Both

Finally, in a parallel hybrid powertrain, the vehicle needs to be able to switch between electric, petrol/diesel, and a combination of the two. Likewise, on a series hybrid, the vehicle detects when the motor needs power from the ICE to recharge the battery.

In both configurations, the vehicle is already automatically adjusting the delivery of power from the engine and motor. So again, it makes sense to extend this to the gear box.

Time To Try An Automatic Hybrid

For all of the above reasons, you usually will not see a manual gear box on a plug-in hybrid car, although you might see one on a mild hybrid (MHEV) or full hybrid (FHEV) that doesn’t plug in to recharge.

In future, manual gear boxes will likely become a thing of the past, especially in mass-market passenger vehicles. Even on sports cars destined for the racetrack, manual transmission will not make sense if the powertrain is all-electric.

If you’ve never driven an automatic or you’ve driven automatic ICEs and want to try your hand behind the wheel of a hybrid instead, there’s never been a better time to take one for a spin.

Why Lease A Hybrid Car

Hybrid car leasing deals mean you can experience the top hybrid cars and models currently available, with the ability to upgrade each time your lease is up for renewal. As hybrid powertrains evolve, you can always have the newest model at your disposal.

As the market trends towards fully electric BEVs, you will also be ready to make that transition. If battery electric vehicles don’t currently meet your needs for any reason, leasing a hybrid car is the perfect interim solution until you decide to switch.