The paper aims at reviewing the history, the development, and the current scenario of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). HEVs have their origin back in the mid-nineteenth century and even though it had gone through a lot of ups and downs, today it is at a revolutionary stage. The excessive usage of fossil fuels and the depleting atmospheric conditions has proven HEVs to be the most viable alternative. This paper goes in detail analyzing the origin of HEVs, their growth and debacle, the current stage of HEVs, and the social and economic impact it can have on the modern world. The paper also draws light on the future technologies that can be implemented in HEVs which can hence make Earth greener. The advancement in the field of power electronics and drives, and new fast charging and slow discharging, durable batteries have in fact made the HEVs to be more economical and more efficient. © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2017.