Posted on 15th November 2017 in 
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by THE CWP LTD GUIDE TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE TERMINOLOGY
This month our social media feeds have been buzzing with news, comment and opinion on the topic of electric vehicles. This surge in interest is due in no small part to the fact that the new Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill is currently progressing through parliament. As we write the Bill is at its Commons Committee stage which is due to complete tomorrow.
On the back of the Bill, last week, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling MP gave a speech heralding the coming of an automated and electric vehicle revolution and this week the print and online media have responded with a flurry of articles which range from the positive “All Wandsworth Lamposts could be EV Chargers” (Evening Standard, 13 November) to the negative “Green Cars Dirty Secret” (FT, 8 November).
Debate is well and truly kicking off. What about the rare earth metals required for EV batteries? How will the UK’s grid cope? How can most of us even afford an EV and if we could where would we charge the thing? All good questions, the answers and solutions to which, we think, are largely positive and should build confidence for the future.
However, if you are coming to this for the first time and have yet to distinguish your PHEV from your HEV or your NEV from your FCEV then CWP Ltd have provided a little glossary of commonly used acronyms for the electric vehicles we can expect to see more of on our roads in the years to come.
We hope this gets you up to speed, charges you with excitement and revs up your enthusiasm.
GLOSSARY
| BEV | Battery Electric Vehicle or BOEV (battery only vehicle) or FEV (Full Electric Vehicle). Any vehicle powered only by rechargeable battery packs and using electric motors and motor controllers instead of an internal combustion engine, fuel cell or fuel tank. |
| PEV | Plug-in Electric Vehicle. Any BEV that can be recharged from an external source. |
| HEV | Hybrid electric vehicle. A conventional engine and electric motor combo. The electric motor starts the journey and once run down is charged by the engine, so no plugging in required. |
| PHEV | Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. A conventional engine (usually petrol) and battery combo that can be plugged-in and charged up. |
| REEV | Range-Extended Vehicle or a Series-PHEV. A REEV has an electric motor, battery pack and conventional engine. The battery pack drives the car for the start of the trip. Once the battery is empty, the engine turns on to extend the total driving distance. The key difference between a PHEV and a REEV is that in a REEV your foot is always connected to the electric motor. |
| NEV | Neighbourhood Electric Vehicle (USA) or New Energy Vehicle (China). In China NEVcovers all plug in and hybrid electric vehicles. In the USA NEVs are low speed vehicles (top speed circa 30mph) that are legally limited to roads with a speed limit of no more than 45mph. |
| LSEV | Low Speed Electric Vehicle. Another term for a NEV in the USA. |
| SCV | Short Commute Vehicle. An alternative term for a NEV or LSEV. Usually refers to a vehicle designed and used specifically for regular trips that take less 20 minutes or are less than 10 miles. |
| FCEV | A fuel cell electric vehicle. A type of electric vehicle which uses a fuel cell, instead of a battery, or in combination with a battery or supercapacitor, to power its on-board electric motor. |
