<P> As of December 2016, the Volt / Ampera family is the world's all - time best - selling plug - in hybrid car, with global sales totaling about 134,500 units since its inception, including over 10,000 Opel / Vauxhall Amperas sold in Europe . The Mitsubishi Outlander P - HEV ranks second with about 119,500 units delivered worldwide . Third is the Toyota Prius Plug - in Hybrid with cumulative global sales of 79,300 units at the end of January 2017 . </P> <P> William H. Patton filed a patent application for a gasoline - electric hybrid rail - car propulsion system in early 1889, and for a similar hybrid boat propulsion system in mid 1889 . He went on to test and market the Patton Motor Car, a gas - electric hybrid system used to drive tram cars and small locomotives . A gasoline engine drove a generator that served to charge a lead acid battery in parallel with the traction motors . A conventional series - parallel controller was used for the traction motors . A prototype was built in 1889, an experimental tram car was run in Pullman, Illinois in 1891, and a production locomotive was sold to a street railway company in Cedar Falls, Iowa in 1897 . </P> <P> In 1896, the Armstrong Phaeton was developed by Harry E. Dey and built by the Armstrong Company of Bridgeport, CT for the Roger Mechanical Carriage Company . Though there were steam, electric, and internal combustion vehicles introduced in the early days, the Armstrong Phaeton was innovative with many firsts . Not only did it have a gasoline powered 6.5 - liter, two - cylinder engine, but also a dynamo flywheel connected to an onboard battery . The dynamo and regenerative braking were used to charge the battery . Its electric starter was used 16 years before Cadillac's . The dynamo also provided ignition spark and powered the electric lamps . The Phaeton also had the first semi-automatic transmission (no manual clutch). The exhaust system was an integrated structural component of the vehicle . The Armstrong Phaeton's motor was too powerful; the torque damaged the carriage wheels repeatedly . </P> <P> In 1900, while employed at Lohner Coach Factory, Ferdinand Porsche developed the Mixte, a 4WD series - hybrid version of "System Lohner - Porsche" electric carriage that previously appeared in 1900 Paris World Fair . George Fischer sold hybrid buses to England in 1901; Knight Neftal produced a racing hybrid in 1902 . </P>

When was the first hybrid car on the road