Piaggio MP3 HYS

Always considering environmental problems, Piaggio presented a inovative solution destinated to change for ever the way we comute in crowded cities.

Year after year the cities become more and more crowded and with personal transporting becoming a must, somebody had to find a solution. You will probably thing that it was found together with the two wheels but not everybody will agree with you. Many people are scared of getting on two wheels and this is where Piaggio comes in.

After recently releasing Piaggio MP3, the President of Piaggio expressed its intentions to release a hybrid version of the vehicle that will result in providing solutions for congested cities.

The scooter is scheduled for release for the European at the end of the month and it will use Piaggio’ HYS technology.

The Piaggio HYS uses ingenious technical solution and still can be ridden with the usual controls (accelerator, brakes and additional handlebar commands) as well as a specific switch to choose one of four operating modes: standard hybrid, high-charge hybrid, low-charge hybrid and electric only.

In the first three modes the HYS manages power output from the two engines, thermal and electric, using a drive-by-wire system: the electronic management system (SGE) interprets the rider’s request for more torque and selects the assist ratio on the state of the system. During deceleration and braking, the control system recovers and accumulates power that is lost on normal vehicles with battery.

In standard hybrid mode the battery charge is maintained at optimum traction levels (batteries at 75%). In view of “electric only” use, the rider can, however, choose the high-charge hybrid function, geared to maximize the range of the electric motor (batteries at 95%).

On the other hand, if the rider wishes to recharge the batteries by plugging them into a power outlet, he can use the low-charge hybrid mode (batteries at 20%) to obtain maximum performance with minimum consumption.

In electric-only mode, the Piaggio HYS shuts down the combustion engine and turns into a silent, zero-emissions electric vehicle.

Drive-by-wire technology not only allows the control system to optimally manage the combined power output of the two engines but also “forces” the terminal engine to work when it can be most efficient, thereby reducing specific consumption, with obvious advantages in terms of lower consumption and emissions.