EV glossary

Just like petrol and diesel vehicles, the world of electric vehicles has its own lingo that can be confusing to newcomers.

General electric vehicle terminology

EV (Electric Vehicle) – A vehicle powered by electric motors using energy stored in a battery.

BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) – A fully electric vehicle with no internal combustion engine (ICE). This term is used interchangeably with EV (electric vehicle)

PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) – A vehicle with both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by a battery that can be recharged using a wall socket or EV charger.

HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) – A vehicle with both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by a battery that recharges using the vehicle's regenerative braking or via the internal combustion engine.

FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) – A vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells that generate electricity.

ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) – An engine that ignites fuel to power the vehicle its installed in. The fuel used to power an internal combustion engine is usually petrol or diesel but can also be hydrogen or LNG (liquified natural gas).

Charging and Infrastructure

KiloWatt (kW) - a unit of power used to measure an EV's motor output as well as its charging speed.

KiloWatt Hour (kWh) - A unit of energy storage in an EV's battery.

Home EV charger - An electric vehicle charger that is installed at a residential property.

AC (Alternating Current) Charging - A charging format that is typically used for home EV chargers and public chargers found in places where cars are parked for longer than an hour. In most cases, AC is limited to up to 22kW.

DC (Direct Current) Charging – High-powered charging method that rapidly charges an EV battery, typically within an hour or less.

Rapid charger - A charger that uses DC charging technology. Rapid charging is often used to describe DC chargers that charge at a max rate of 50kW. These can also be called en-route chargers or on-the-road chargers.

Ultra Rapid charging - A charger that uses DC charging technology at a max rate higher than 50kW.

Destination charger - A charger (which usually uses AC charging technology) that can be found in public parking areas where vehicles are parked for longer than an hour (for example: shopping centres, hotels, etc).

Charging network - A system of interconnected EV charging stations managed by an operator. Examples are Osprey Charging, Instavolt, Tesla Supercharger and Gridserve.

CCS (Combined Charging System) - A charging connector that uses both AC and DC charging. In the UK and Europe, this connector type can be found on all rapid chargers.

CHAdeMO - A DC charging connector that's typically found on Japanese electric vehicles and is a competitor to CCS. While most rapid chargers will have this connector type available, there are a growing number that don't due to the industry favouring CCS.

Bidirectional charging - The ability for an EV battery to charge and discharge power through a connected charger.

V2G (vehicle to grid) - A Technology that allows a vehicle to return energy to the grid

V2L (vehicle to load) - A Technology that allows a user to power an external device using the EV's battery. This is usually done by connecting an adapter to the vehicle's charging port.

V2H (vehicle to home) - A Technology that can use an EV's battery to power a home through the use of a charger.

Single-phase charging - An AC charging technology that uses a single phase power supply to charge an electric vehicle at a max rate of 7.4kW. This form of charging is typically used with home chargers.

Three-phase charging - An AC charging technology that uses a three-phase power supply to charge an electric vehicle at a max rate of 22kW. This form of charging is typically found in destination chargers and home chargers that are connected to a three-phase power supply.

Charge point anxiety - The feeling an EV driver gets when approaching an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, stemming from concerns about unreliable equipment, unavailable charging spots, and the charging process itself

Battery and performance

Battery Capacity – The total amount of energy a battery can store, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

State of Charge (SoC) – The current battery level, expressed as a percentage of full charge.

Miles per kWh - How many miles an electric vehicle can travel on a single kWh. This is similar to MPG (miles per gallon) for fuel cars.

Lithium-Ion Battery – The most common type of battery used in EVs.

Solid-State Battery – A battery technology that replaces liquid electrolytes with solid ones.

Regenerative Braking – A system that recovers energy during braking and stores it in the battery.

Thermal Management System – A system that regulates battery temperature for optimal performance.

Battery Degradation – The gradual loss of a battery’s ability to hold charge over time.

Range and efficiency

MPGe (Miles Per Gallon Equivalent) – A measure of an EV’s energy efficiency compared to petrol.

WLTP Range – A European test standard for EV range.

Range Anxiety - The fear of running out of battery charge before reaching a charging station.

miscellaneous and slang terms

ICE'ing - When a vehicle with an internal combustion engine parks in an electric car charging bay. Is sometimes also used for when an electric vehicle is parked in a charging bay but not charging.

Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates – Software updates delivered wirelessly to improve EV performance.

Smart Charging – A system that optimises charging times to reduce costs and grid impact.