When it comes to types of electric vehicles (EVs), the choices people can buy go far beyond those powered by batteries alone. These days, car buyers can find all types, including options that rely on fuel cells or combine a gas engine in hybrid and plug-in hybrids.
We’ll tell you about traditional types of electric cars in this article: The standard EV, also known as a battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV); the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV); and the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). With all these acronyms, let’s break it down.
Electric Cars and Battery Electric Vehicles
EVs don’t run on gasoline or use internal combustion engines. Instead, electric cars run solely on battery power. Drivers can charge them at home using Level 1 and Level 2 EV chargers, and at commercial charging stations with Level 3 chargers.
Battery technology continues to improve, enabling electric cars to have greater range.
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles
Fuel cell electric vehicles, or FCEVs, may not be in wide circulation just yet. They’re available primarily in California.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles require compressed hydrogen, the most common element on the planet. To fill up, it takes about the same time as it does a gas car. Hydrogen is safe — it carries less energy than gasoline — but there’s limited infrastructure open to the public outside California to fill a vehicle up with hydrogen.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Hybrid electric vehicles, or HEVs, run on both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor that uses energy stored in a battery. However, unlike most electric vehicles, hybrid drivers charge their batteries via regenerative braking. They are not plugged into a power outlet and charged.
Regenerative braking stores the kinetic energy used to stop the car to charge its electric battery and help the internal combustion engine accelerate the vehicle. A full hybrid uses its stored battery power to make the car move using electricity alone, but usually only for short distances before a gasoline engine kicks in.
One type of HEV, the micro or mild hybrid, typically does not use electric power to propel the car. Still, it takes a load off the gas engine, making it slightly more efficient than a standard gasoline-only vehicle. Mild hybrids maximize fuel economy by shutting off the internal combustion engine during complete stops.
Drivers desire hybrids and PHEVs (see the next section) for their fuel economy because their reliance on battery power decreases how much gas the internal combustion engine uses, thus saving fuel and money.
PHEV: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Plug-in hybrids expand on the concept of the standard hybrid vehicle. They drive with an internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by a larger battery pack. This allows the battery to store enough power to feed the electric motor and in turn decrease your gas usage by as much as 60%. This can save you time and money at the gas pump. PHEVs can travel up to around 40 miles on electric power alone, rather than a couple of miles with a standard hybrid vehicle.
The Two Types of PHEVs:
- Extended range electric vehicles (EREVs), or series plug-in hybrids, use an electric motor to push the car while the internal combustion engine generates electricity. Once the battery taps out, the engine takes over to power the vehicle.
- On the other hand, parallel (or blended) PHEVs use their internal combustion engine and electric motors to move the car.
