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Computer simulation of a hybrid vehicle has revealed that improvements in fuel economy up to 30%, and a significant reduction in emissions can be realized without sacrificing the basic performance characteristics normally found in the conventional vehicle. The vehicle under consideration (classified as a series hybrid) is equipped with a heat engine and electric drive. The data presented in the paper indicates that engine size optimization is a crucial factor in the development of a viable hybrid vehicle. Fuel economy and emissions were taken as optimization criteria. An optimization task was carried out to find the optimal point between two extremes. One extreme is an all-electric vehicle, no heat engine but with large batteries. This is a zero emissions vehicle, but with limited driving range and prohibitively long refueling time. Another extreme is an engine-electric drive vehicle with no battery.