Electric vehicles, or EVs, are the latest tech and fastest-growing automotive technology. The technology is efficient and environmentally friendly and gets a lot of support and incentives from the government. However, not all EVs are the same. There are three broad categories of electric vehicles, depending on the degree of reliance on electricity.
Three Types Of Electric Cars
1. Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)
The hybrids are the lowest in the spectrum in terms of reliance on electricity, and they use both fuel and electricity. Unlike all the other types of electric cars, they do not have a charging port. Instead, they recharge their battery reserves using the energy that the car's braking system generates. These cars have a regenerative braking system where a motor is engaged when one applies the brake. The engine converts the power (which generally translates into heat energy in a conventional braking system) into electric energy, which in turn is stored in the batteries.
Under the HEV are three sub-categories, which classifies the vehicle depending on whether it can run on electric or combustion alone or its combination and how much it relies on electricity. These sub-categories are:
- micro-hybrids
- mild hybrids
- full hybrids
The mild hybrids and micro-hybrids cannot drive solely on an electric motor and have a significantly smaller battery than the full hybrids. It typically has a motor incorporated to complement or supplement a conventional engine.
The micro-hybrids are the lowest or entry level of hybridisation, and they mainly comprise of start-stop engine models. The start-stop engine facilitates complete shutdown of combustion when the brakes are engaged to stop the vehicle, and the engine to kick back into action when the brake pedal is released. During the drive, the micro-hybrids rely entirely on combustion and only use electricity when the vehicle is stationary or when idling. As a result, the car only consumes fuel when on the move translating to approximately 10% fuel efficiency as compared to the conventional non-hybrid vehicles.
The mild HEV models have a bigger motor, alternator and battery pack than the Micro HEV. Their motor is used not only when the car is stationary but also during the drive. The electric motor is incorporated to be used together with the combustion engine when the vehicle is on the move adding on the propulsion energy. These mild HEV models have a fuel efficiency of 20-25% compared to the conventional non-hybrid automotive.
The full hybrids can drive solely on the electric motor, exclusively on combustion or combination of electric motor and combustion. Compared to the Mild HEV, their motor, battery pack and alternator are much bigger, while their combustion engine is smaller. Typically, the full hybrids start on the electric motor and use the combustion engine later with the increase in energy demand such as on higher speed, increase in load weight, or when the battery is discharged offering less energy than needed. This process of engaging or disengaging of fuel usage or usage of both fuel and electricity is computer-controlled to ensure optimal driving conditions. On low-speed, full hybrid models can optimally drive 1-5 miles (1.5-8 km) solely on power before the gasoline engine kicks in to provide support. They offer an increased fuel efficiency of 40-45% compared to conventional non-hybrid vehicles.
The most common Hybrid Electric Vehicles include:
Toyota Prius Eco
Honda Insight Hybrid 1st and 2nd generation
Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda CR-Z Hybrid
Honda Vezel Hybrid SUV
Audi Duo III
Audi Q7 Hybrid
Audi Q5 Hybrid
Range Rover Hybrid
Toyota Camry Hybrid
Ford Escape Hybrid
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Toyota Auris Hybrid
Toyota Prius Alpha
Toyota Prius V.
Toyota Prius C
Toyota Prius Liftback
Toyota Yaris Hybrid
Toyota Avalon Hybrid
Toyota Corolla Axio hybrid sedan
Toyota Fielder hybrid station wagon
Lexus RX 400h Hybrid
Lexus GS 450h Hybrid
Lexus CT 200h
Camry Hybrid
Nissan Altima Hybrid
Chevrolet Tahoe GMT900
GMC Yukon
Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid
Chevy ZH2 Hybrid - hydrogen fuel
GMC Sierra Hybrid
Ford Fusion Hybrid
Ford C-Max Hybrid
Acura ILX Hybrid
Mercury Milan Hybrid
Hyundai Elantra LPI Hybrid - LPG Hybrid
Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid
Mercedes-Benz ML 450Hybrid
BMW ActiveHybrid x6
BMW 5 Series ActiveHybrid
BMW 3 Seris Hybrid
Lincoln MKZ Hybrid
Porsche Cayenne Hybrid
Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid
Volkswagen Jetta diesel-electric hybrid
Volkswagen Golf Hybrid
Volkswagen Passat Hybrid
Infiniti M35 Hybrid
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
Kia Optima Hybrid
Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4
2. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)
PHEV models also run on both internal combustion and electricity like the HEP models. Unlike the HEP models, however, the PHEVs have a charging port for direct charging which charges the battery fully in less than 2 hours. You may charge a PHEV from an external electric source as well as internally from its inbuilt generators. They are more of a full hybrid HEV upgrade with a bigger battery pack and an external charging port. PHEVs also work like full hybrid HEVs. The only difference is that with a bigger battery pack, they cover longer distances (20-60km) on an electric motor. When depleted, they can recharge from external power sources without necessarily relying on internal charging. As a result, the usage of gas is optional, which earned the PHEVs their other nickname - "Gas-Optional Hybrids" or "Gas-Optional Hybrid Electric Vehicles" (GO-HEV).
The common PHEV in the market includes:
Toyota Prius PHV
Chevrolet Volt plugin-in hybrid series
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV
Ford C-Max Energi
Ford C-Max Fusion Energi
Hyundai IONIQ PHEV
Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid
Fisker Karma
Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid
3. Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
BEV are pure electric vehicles that rely entirely on the electric motor for propulsion. They do not operate on a combustion engine, and thus they have zero-emission. They have massive battery packs - the biggest among the EVs. Charging is through from an external power source through the EV's charging port. The battery stores the energy needed to drive the motor, which in turn, propels the vehicle. Initially, the BEV would cover 100 - 150 km on a single charge, but with improved batteries and efficiency, the most recent models can cover up to 594km. It would also take 6-12 hours to charge a BEV fully, but with the invention of fast chargers, rapid chargers and supercharge stations, it only takes from 30 minutes to 3 hours to charge fully. This technology was initially applied on bikes and mass transport systems such as town buses (for example, the Australian Tindo buses in Adelaide). Today, the tech is widely used even in smaller cars, SUVs, boats, and golf carts among other vessels.
Among the fully electric vehicles available in Australia include:
BMW i3 series
Nissan LEAF ZE0 series
Nissan LEAF AZE0 Series
Tesla Model S series
Tesla Model 3 series
Tesla Model X series
Tesla Roadster Series
Hyundai Kona electric Series
Jaguar I-PACE EV400 Series
Mitsubishi i-MiEV Series
Mitsubishi MiniCab MIEV Series
Renult Zoe Intens Series
Renult Kangoo Maxi Series
Read about the Top 5 electric sports cars on the market today and other updates in the automotive industry from Carpart.com.au.