BEV, HEV, PHEV... Do you know what the acronyms for electric cars mean?

The automotive world is full of acronyms that hide the most varied systems. Anti-lock braking is the ABS (Anti Blocking System), for example. Each brand has a different name for its patented systems and all of them have their acronym. But for important things, which are a standard for the whole industry, everyone agrees. Electrified cars have an identical designation for all brands, and the acronyms that define them are the same for all.

You may have seen that a car is BEV, HEV, PHEV, FCEV or E-REV, but that may not have clarified much what it refers to. So let’s go through these terms that we may know what they refer to, but for which we may have some doubts.

HEV: Hybrid Electric Vehicle

This type of vehicle is the traditional hybrid, which has a combustion engine, generally petrol although diesel engines are now also available, combined with a low-power electric motor. These hybrid cars are not plug-in and use the combustion engine to generate the electricity they store in the battery. They are the most common hybrids on the market and the most affordable among electrified vehicles.

PHEV: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

The next step up in hybrid cars is the plug-in hybrids, known as PHEV. They are like hybrid cars, but they have more powerful electric motors and a larger battery with greater capacity. For this reason they need a greater input of electricity, which they obtain by plugging into the electrical grid. The battery capacity allows the car to run in electric mode with a range of around 50 kilometres.

BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle

These are vehicles that run on one or more electric motors powered by electricity supplied by a higher-capacity electric battery. The battery is recharged through a connector that supplies it with electricity from the mains grid, but it can also be recharged through braking and other systems.

FCEV: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle

Fuel cell cars run on electricity generated by hydrogen. They are also called hydrogen cars. This gas produces a chemical reaction in which electrons are released, and these make up the energy that drives the electric motor of the FCEV vehicle.

MHEV: Mild-hybrid Electric Vehicle

This type of hybrid has a mild hybrid system. It provides a 48-volt current that helps power the car’s electronic systems, which draw from this system and do not increase fuel consumption to generate that electrical energy. They are becoming increasingly common and many models feature this mild hybrid system.

E-REV: Extended Range Electric Vehicle

This designation is disappearing, because it refers to an electric car with a battery, but the electricity it runs on comes from a combustion engine. They are not very practical, which is why there are currently no new models using this system. But you may come across this designation, so we have included it in this review of the electric car acronyms you may encounter when they are discussed.