October 11, 2022

10 Confusing EV Terms Motorists Should Know More About


As more car makers start getting into EVs, new terms have started popping up in automotive vocabulary. This can lead to some confusion, especially as people start to embrace this new kind of propulsion technology.

Feedback has shown that many people still don’t understand terminology relating to EVs. Couple that with a lack of consistency in the way such information is presented in the industry and what you get is a need for better clarity and consistency.

Here are ten confusing terms surrounding EVs:

#1. EV acronyms

There are many EV acronyms that drivers of gas and diesel cars don’t understand. Two examples are ‘kW’ and ‘kWh’. EV battery sizes are quoted in kWh (kilowatt hours). Charging speeds are quoted in kW (kilowatts). However, the output of an EV’s electric motor is also expressed in kW—although sometimes this is quoted in PS, HP, or BHP. Being aware of the power output of an EV is important. The output of an electric motor of a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) is usually relatively low, whereas the power output of the electric motor of a pure EV is usually much higher, which is the reason why BEVs (battery electric vehicles) have strong performance, but PHEVs typically have poor performance when driving on electric power. However, most people won’t be aware of the power output of an electric motor in a plug-in hybrid because it generally isn’t publicized widely.

#2. Battery size

The battery capacity of an EV is stated in kWh, which is a new concept to many motorists, and to make things even more confusing, sometimes battery sizes are quoted in terms of the ‘actual’ size of an EV’s battery, and sometimes battery sizes are quoted for the ‘usable’ size of an EV’s battery – both of which are different. Consumers can find it hard to know which battery size is being quoted for a particular EV, making like-for-like comparisons difficult.

#3. Driving range

Motorists aren’t clear about the realistic driving range that can be expected from an EV. Although the older and less accurate New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) driving range figure has been replaced by the updated official Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) figure, this is still not a realistic expectation of what can expected in real-world driving due to variables such as driving style, weather, load, topography, etc. It’s often not clear for car buyers if the electric driving range figures displayed in response to online searches are for WLTP or estimated real-world driving ranges.

#4. Charging speeds

What’s the difference between slow, fast, rapid and ultra-rapid charging? Most people don’t know, but more worryingly, there is much inconsistency within the industry over the use of these terms. Slow charging should refer to charging using a 3-pin plug, or up to 3 kW. Fast charging should refer to 7 kW (a home wall box) to 22 kW (typically found at a public charging site). Rapid charging refers to public charging that is between 50 kW to 150 kW, and ultra-rapid charging refers to charging at rates above 150 kW. The problem is that the terminology is applied differently by different people.

#5. Three-phase charging

Many car manufacturers, particularly German OEMs, quote charging times for EVs based on using 11 kW, or three-phase, electric power, because this is common for domestic properties in Germany. However very few homes in the Philippines have this level of power—it’s mainly commercial premises that are likely to have three-phase power over here. So, quoting times for 11 kW charging can be misleading for EV buyers.

#6. Maximum charge rate

Different EVs have different maximum charging rates, but research has shown that most car buyers have limited understanding about this. The maximum charging rate of an EV is important, because if you plug your EV into a 350 kW chargep oint but your EV can only charge at 100 kW, then your charging will be slow compared to an EV that can charge at 350 kW.

#7. Drop-off in charging speed

Many EV drivers believe that if they charge at a 100 kW charge point, the car will charge at 100 kW for the duration of the charge. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. If you’re lucky, a charge could start at 100 kW, but it could be less, and it will drop from this rate, typically reducing down in ‘steps’. This is because an EV is likely to charge at a fast rate when its battery is almost empty, but when the battery charge increases, the charging speed will drop significantly. It’s for this reason that EV manufacturers will typically quote rapid charge times from 10 percent to 80 percent rather than to 100 percent – although again there is much inconsistency in the industry about the exact figures that are quoted – some manufacturers quote the time taken for an EV to charge from 0 percent to 80 percent. This is also why it takes a long time to charge from 80 percent to 100 percent at a public rapid charger – so it’s best to stop charging at that point and let other EV drivers use the charger.

#8. Public charging, connectors & cables

Motorists who have previously never used public charging are often confused and anxious about charging an EV. There are lots of technical terms used when referring to charging, connectors, and cables – such as CHAdeMO, CCS, Type 1, Type 2, etc. The good news is that the vast majority of new EVs use just one type of charging connector for public rapid charging – CCS (combined charging system) – and charging at most rapid chargers is as simple as connecting the charger’s cable with the CCS connector to the car’s socket and making a contactless payment. Read this story to find out more about the different charging standards.

#9. Efficiency

A ‘kilometers per liter’ figure has been quoted for gas and diesel cars for many years, so buyers can compare how efficient one car is against another. A ‘km/L’ figure isn’t applicable to an EV, but, with rising energy prices, it’s important to know how efficient an EV is compared to rivals. Efficiency figures do exist for EVs, but they’re often not easy to find, and the figures quoted are often inconsistent. For example, some EVs have a ‘kWh/100 km’, ‘Wh/kilometer’, or ‘km/kWh.’

#10. Electrified

Manufacturers are increasingly using the term ‘electrified’ for their cars, but what does this mean? Does it mean fully electric? Or plug-in hybrid? Or hybrid? Or mild-hybrid? Well, car manufacturers seem to use the term to cover all of the above technologies, which makes it very confusing – and misleading – for car buyers.

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