If you own a Hybrid or Electric car, you may have noticed a “B” on or around the shifter. You are not alone, this question gets brought up a lot and there is a pretty straightforward answer!

If you are in a regular gas-powered vehicle and you start to go down a hill, sometimes the vehicle will downshift to help slow the pace of the vehicle and take some of that pressure off of the brakes.

The “B” mode in a Hybrid is the same concept. When shifting into “B” mode you increase the drag that is created by the regenerative portion of the brakes. So essentially it is to simulate downshifting or engine braking. Used mainly when going down a long or steep hill.