Explainer: what do HEV, MHEV, PHEV, BEV and FCEV mean?

Monday, 12 June 2023

This is an EV charging, which is also a BEV, but could also be a PHEV.

We like an acronym in the motoring world, and the rise of electrification hasn’t made things much friendlier for those outside the know. With that said, here’s a handy guide to figure out what HEV, PHEV, EV and FCEV all mean, and why you should care.

HEV – Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Almost every mainstream Toyota release on sale now is a hybrid.

This is the most common type of electrified vehicle, more commonly known as hybrids. Think almost every Toyota you can buy, and with the rise of the Clean Car Programme, most manufacturers will have at least a couple of hybrids in their range – although after July 1, pretty much every hybrid moves into the zero band. If you want a rebate, best get in quick.

Hybrids use an electric motor and a small battery to take the load off the engine, although typically not for long distances or at high speeds. There’s no plugging in involved, as hybrids charge their batteries using the petrol engine, as well as other things like regenerative brakes.

The Peugeot 308 can be had in combustion-only or plug-in hybrid forms.

You can even get the Range Rover Sport as a plug-in hybrid.

* China's EV revolution shows grim future for Japan car titans

* Rivian leaps past Volkswagen's valuation as EV mania rages

Tesla is probably the most famous EV maker right now.

* Not ready for an EV? There are low emission alternatives

Confused by all the acronyms surrounding Electric vehicles and hybrids? Here's a quick overview of the differences between HEVs, PHEVs and BEVs.

PHEV – Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle

A PHEV is essentially an upgraded hybrid. These vehicles get larger batteries, stronger motors, and an external plug for charging.

All PHEVs will offer an amount of pure-electric range, usually around 60km but sometimes as high as 100km, which means you can do general day-to-day driving, like commuting or shopping, on electric power without touching the fuel reserves.

The Hyundai Nexo is the only FCEV on sale right now... but there’s nowhere to really fuel it.

They can be (and to get the most out of them, should be) plugged in to charge the battery, but because you do have fuel reserves, you can still go on long road trips without worrying about running out of electricity, so no range anxiety.

PHEVs receive a rebate of $5750 right now, but will drop to a max of $4025 (depending on the individual vehicle’s CO2 emissions) come July.

EV – Electric Vehicle

Also known as a BEV, or battery electric vehicle, this one simply means a vehicle powered exclusively by a battery, with no combustion components at all.

They can generally drive for around 400km, although some dip as low as 200km while some push above 600km. It really pays to research what EV you want, and what you want to use it for.

Every EV under the $80k cutoff gets an $8625 rebate until July 1 when it drops to $7105.

MHEV – Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle

MHEV stands for ‘Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle’. Mild hybrid vehicles have an even smaller motor than standard HEVs, often inside the transmission itself, along with a baby battery.

You can’t travel any real distance on electric power alone with an MHEV, but you will save fuel through the motor taking care of start/stop functions, allowing the engine to be decoupled from the driveline, and the extra electricals taking over functions like air conditioning, to save the engine from working harder.

FCEV – Fuel Cell Electric VehicleThe

You can’t really buy fuel-cell vehicles in New Zealand but there are a couple floating around. FCEVs are basically BEVs that use hydrogen stored in an on-board tank to generate electricity for a smaller battery rather than using massive batteries to store power.

FCEVs are better than BEVs in some ways, in that with the right infrastructure they offer the total freedom of an ICE vehicle, without the emissions, but that is also their biggest drawback – there are literally no places for the general public to refuel them here yet. Expect these to remain in the domain of heavy commercial transport for the near future at least.