Hybrid Synergy Drive

Hybrid Synergy Drive ® (HSD) designates a set of hybrid car technologies developed by Toyota and used in the company's Yaris, Auris, Prius, Highlander Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Estima, Alphard, Lexus RX 400h/RX 450h, Lexus GS 450h, Lexus LS 600h/LS 600hL, Lexus CT 200h, and Lexus HS 250h automobiles. Toyota also licenses its HSD technology to Nissan for use in that company's Nissan Altima Hybrid. Its parts supplier Aisin Seiki Co. sells similar hybrid transmissions to other car companies.

HSD technology produces a full hybrid vehicle which allows the car to run on the electric motor only, as opposed to most other brand hybrids which cannot and are considered mild hybrids. The HSD also combines an electric drive and a planetary gearset which performs similarly to a continuously variable transmission. The Synergy Drive is a drive-by-wire system with no direct mechanical connection between the engine and the engine controls: both the gas pedal/accelerator and the gearshift lever in an HSD car merely send electrical signals to a control computer.

HSD is a refinement of the original Toyota Hybrid System (THS) used in the 1997 to 2003 Toyota Prius. The second generation system THS II first appeared on the redesigned Prius in 2004. The name was changed in anticipation of its use in vehicles outside the Toyota brand (Lexus; the HSD-derived systems used in Lexus vehicles have been termed Lexus Hybrid Drive since 2006). The Lexus Hybrid Drive system is tuned for increased power and performance along with efficiency concerns; it was introduced on all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive Lexus models. By May 2007 Toyota had sold one million hybrids worldwide and by the end of August 2009 had sold a total of two million. By April 2012 Toyota had sold four million hybrids worldwide. Toyota-produced hybrids make up approximately 75% of United States hybrid sales.

Read more about Hybrid Synergy Drive:  Principle, Operation, Subsequent Developments, List of Vehicles With HSD Technology, Comparison With Other Hybrids, Aftermarket

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