Electric & Hybrid Vehicles Explained

Is an electric vehicle the right choice for me?

Well, if you drive less than 100 miles in a day and have have off-street parking at your home or workplace (where you can charge the vehicle battery), then an electric car could be the right choice for you

What are the benefits of an electric vehicle?

Charge wherever

• You have the freedom to charge it on the go. Charging points can be found in many car parks, supermarkets, leisure centres and more.
• A searchable map of the UK’s ever-growing network of public charging points can be found at www.zap-map.com
• All electric cars can be plugged in with a 3-pin socket, but it's super easy to have an electric car charging point fitted at your home.
• Many vehicles charge very quickly, where a 20-minute charge can replenish the battery to 80%.

Save money

• Electric cars are extremely cheap to run, costing on average £2.80 to drive 100 miles.
• Once registered with TFL, you can travel in and out of London for free as all Electric Vehicles are exempt from the London Congestion Charge.
• Electric cars require less maintenance because they have fewer moving parts.

Reduce emissions

• To reduce your carbon footprint you can switch to an emission-free electric car.
• Electric cars don’t use any petrol or diesel so don’t emit any tailpipe emissions or greenhouse gases.
• Every car that is replaced with an electric vehicle contributes a CO2 saving of around 133.1g/km.

What does it all mean?

ICEs

Internal Combustion Engines… generate mechanical power by burning a liquid fuel (such as petrol, diesel, or a biofuel) or a gaseous fuel (such as compressed natural gas). They are the dominant propulsion technology for on-road vehicles today.

EVs

Electric Vehicles… produce zero tailpipe emissions, are powered solely by one or more electric motors and are sometimes called BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles).

EVs plug into off-board sources of electricity and store the energy in a battery. Many models will also charge through regenerative braking whilst being driven.

HEVs

Hybrid Electric Vehicles… These are powered by an ICE that runs on conventional or alternative fuel and an electric motor that uses energy stored in a battery.

HEV batteries are charged by the ICE and through regenerative braking. HEVs are not plugged in to charge.

PHEVs

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles… These are powered by an ICE and by an electric motor that uses energy stored in a battery.

PHEVs can be plugged into off-board sources of electricity to charge the battery.

EVSE

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment… This delivers electrical energy from an electricity source to charge an EV’s battery. It communicates with the EV to ensure that an appropriate and safe flow of electricity is supplied. EVSE units are often referred to as “charging stations” or “charge points”.

V2G Charging

Vehicle-to-grid Charging (V2G)… describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles, such as electric cars (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), communicate with the power grid to sell demand response services by either returning electricity to the grid or by throttling their charging rate.