State of charge management for plug in hybrid electric vehicles with uncertain distance to recharge

The state of charge management of plug in hybrid vehicles differs from their non-plug in counterparts through the utilisation of a charge depleting mode of operation. Several studies have shown that a blended mode of charge depletion holds fuel economy advantages over a charge depletion and charge sustaining combination, however these approaches assume knowledge of the total journey distance. Here, this assumption is relaxed and the state of charge trajectory recalculated online using a weaker assumption that only a probability distribution accumulated over past trips is available. The benefits relative to other potential strategies are assessed in terms of relative fuel consumption and tailpipe CO₂ emissions.