An Electric Vehicle Acronym Explainer

PHEV, REx, BEV, full hybrid, mild hybrid (MHEV), FCEV—there’s so many different approaches to electrifying a vehicle that it can be hard to keep up with what they all mean!

And it’s important to understand the difference, because not every electric vehicle will fit every driver’s situation.

Image Credit: Toyota

Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)

Conventional hybrid vehicles are where modern electrification started. These feature both a full-size internal combustion engine, along with an electric motor and battery pack. Either the engine or the electric motor can be used to drive the car individually, or they can work at the same time for greater acceleration.

Typically, the electric motor is used for low-speed acceleration and the engine takes over at higher speeds, allowing both to operate at maximum efficiency.

Hybrids do provide increased fuel economy and acceleration over their non-hybrid counterparts, but don’t have a large enough battery to travel a meaningful distance on electric power alone and cannot be plugged in to charge.

This makes them well-suited for people who can’t charge up at home or don’t have access to charging infrastructure, as the drivers never have to worry about finding a plug to use their car’s electric power.

Image Credit: Toyota

Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles (MHEV)

Mild hybrids, or MHEVs, are kind of like dipping your toes into the waters of electrification. Like full hybrids, they use battery technology to ease fuel consumption, reduce emissions, and aid acceleration—but unlike HEVs, MHEVs typically cannot travel by electric power alone. Most often, their electric motors are activated when the vehicle is coasting, braking, or stationary, and they recharge through (limited) regenerative braking. Mild hybrids, like full hybrids, are best-suited for people who can’t charge at home or don’t have access to charging infrastructure.

Image credit: Land Rover

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)

As you might be able to guess from the name, you can plug these cars in to charge their batteries, which are normally large enough to allow for anywhere from 10–50 miles of electric-only driving.

The point isn’t to just get by on the electric charge—these are still hybrids, after all—but by plugging them in every night, drivers can see drastic increases in fuel economy and can go for weeks before having to fill up.

If you were to charge up a Toyota Prius Prime once and drive until you ran out of gas, the EPA says you could go about 640 miles. But by charging their cars every night, owners are commonly getting more than 1000 miles on one tank.

And since there is the gasoline engine, these cars come with no range anxiety attached. Taking a trip? You can stop and fill up.

The downside of plug-in hybrids is if you can’t plug-in every night you won’t see that primary benefit. They’re still more fuel efficient than internal combustion engine-only counterparts, but you’re paying a premium for the plug-in tech you won’t be able to take advantage of.

Image Credit: Chevy

Range Extended Electric Vehicles (REEVs)

Range Extended Electric Vehicles also feature both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, but unlike plug-ins and conventional hybrids, the electric motor does all the driving. The internal combustion is only there to charge the battery if you start to get low on charge.

The idea is still to go as long as possible in electric-only mode, and the range extender will ideally help you get to a fast-charging station, or home. If you’re traveling somewhere without fast-charging infrastructure, no worries—you can keep filling up your gas tank and continue on your journey.

There are significantly fewer range-extended electric cars than other types of hybrids. Chevy discontinued the Volt in 2019, and BMW dropped the range-extender option in the 2019 BMW i3. The only new option going forward will be the Honda Clarity.

While there aren’t many new range-extenders on the market, they’ll all make great pre-owned buys for years to come.

Image Credit: BMW

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs or EVs)

This is the real deal. All electric, all the time.

All of Tesla’s models are battery EVs. Other popular all-electric models include the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt, and Jaguar I-Pace. These pure electric cars usually feature motors that are much more powerful than those found in hybrids since they’re not sharing duties with an internal combustion engine.

And since there’s no engine onboard, the full features of an electric motor are on display. Electric motors are incredibly quiet and smoother than any internal combustion engine in operation. Plus, the large amounts of torque they offer allow for exciting acceleration from low speeds.

You’re going to want to charge these cars up every night. If you’re taking a road-trip, you need to plan your stops at fast-charging stations ahead of time—at least until charging infrastructure becomes more widespread.

Sure, these are changes to what we’re used to doing with gas-powered cars. But we believe electric power provides a superior driving experience. And we know it’s the future of automotive.

Image Credit: Tesla