The aim of an effective hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) energy management strategy is to reduce fuel consumption and undesired pollutant emission levels while maintaining drivability and battery state of charge (SOC). A high-fidelity laboratory test platform that enables verification, validation and testing of the strategy developed in the shortest possible time is essential for the demanded quality and performance levels. This paper presents a hardware-in-the-loop simulator developed for the evaluation of HEV energy management algorithms (EMAs). The hardware in the loop (HiL) simulation model of a front and rear wheel electric motor driven hybrid electric commercial van with an internal combustion engine powering the front wheels is presented. The EMA used in the platform is also introduced. Finally, HiL simulation results are compared with road test results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.