EV/EVs
Electric Vehicle /s, – most important and referred to all the time in this guide, our website, our Mobile App and the wider Electric Vehicle community.
800v
800V is currently the most powerful level of charging available to the public, seen on several new EVs. This can potentially add over 100 miles of charge in as little as 10 minutes.
AC/DC
This references both Alternating and Direct Currents. See our definitions of AC and DC for specific definitions of these types of electricity flows.
AC
An Alternating Current is a type of electricity flow that can charge electric vehicles at slower speeds. You’ll find AC on home charging wall boxes.
AFV
Alternative Fuel Vehicle. These are vehicles that run on fuels that aren’t the traditionally used petrol or diesel.
Autopilot
This is when a car has self-driving technology. This technology is now a common feature among EVs, probably best known in Tesla models, although more brands have this function already, or are bringing the same technology to the market.
AVAS
Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems. Generation of an artificial noise in electric cars so that pedestrians and cyclists can hear them coming. The AVAS will make a sound when the car is reversing or is travelling slower than 18.6mph (30km/h).
Battery Capacity
This is the amount of power that an electric vehicle’s battery can hold. Measured in kWh, you will often see a measurement in the specification of most EVs. Find out more here.
BCH
Business Contract Hire is a type of leasing contract available for businesses rather than individuals. It offers certain tax advantages that appeal to the business.
BEV
Battery Electric Vehicles are another way of saying fully electric vehicles. These are cars that are powered solely by a battery. They have no other power source as found in hybrid or Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles.
BIK
Benefit-in-kind is a tax on employees who receive benefits or perks on top of their salary. One such perk is a company car or car purchased by the company for an employee’s use. This applies for vehicles purchased via a Salary Sacrifice scheme. However, the rates are very low for EVs, which makes the schemes an attractive way to buy an EV.
Car Club
Car Clubs are a variation on a car rental scheme. With car clubs, the customer can hire a car by the hour, allowing them to only pay for the time required. These schemes are becoming most popular in built up urban areas and supplement the public transport network.
CAZ
Clean Air Zones are already in force around the UK, in some form, including London’s ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zones. Many more cities have plans to introduce such schemes to ban or limited the number of vehicles entering the city centres streets. Find out more here.
CCS
CCS stands for Combined Charging System and is the standard for charging EVs in the EU. Its layout consists of two DC pins that sit below the standard Type 2 connector plug. Find our more here.
Cells
A battery pack is made up of cells that can store electrical energy. The more cells a battery has, the more electrical power it can store.
Charge Flap
The Charge Flap is a small cover located on all EVs that covers the charging socket. Brands are becoming very inventive with the location of these, and many are now hidden so well that you need to be shown them to know where they are located.
Charging Capacity or Rate
The Charging Capacity is the rate at which a battery on an EV can consume power and charge. This can range from 1kw for a domestic three-pin plug socket, through to the common 7kw and 22kw for home charge points. Some high-power public charge points that can now achieve 350kw.
Charging Point
A Charging Point refers to the place where you can charge your EV. This can be at home or while you are on the road. Your Bounce-EV App will show you where these Charge Points are located so you are able to add some bounce while you are out and about. Find out more here.
CHAdeMO
This is the name of a large, round four-pin charging plug that is only used at rapid charging stations. CHAdeMO plugs are capable of Vehicle to Grid (V2G) charging but are less powerful than CCS. Many Asian manufacturers like Nissan and Toyota use these chargers. Find out more here.
Charging Cable
The Charging Cable is the cable which is used to connect your car to the charging point. Most cars will come with a standard cable, but others are available to increase your charging options, including a longer cable.
Connector Type
These are the ‘plugs’ that sit at the end of the charging cable. This is the end of the cable that connects to your car. See our guide on connection types for more information. Find out more here.
Cost per kWh
kWh stands for kilowatt-hour. This is the electrical equivalent of the price you’d pay for a litre of petrol or diesel. Understanding this cost, which varies from charge point to charge point, as with petrol from station to station, will allow you to work out the cost of a full charge for your EV. For example, if you have a car with 100kWh battery, and the cost of your charge is 30p per kWh, then the cost to fully charge the battery is £30. See our other guides for more information around this. Find out more.
DC
Stands for Direct Current. DC EV charging does not need your EV to convert the current, as with AC charging. Due to that stage being taken out of the charging process, the DC current can be transmitted to the car’s battery at much faster speeds.
Degradation
This is often talked about with EVs. Degradation is expected within any battery lifecycle and can vary. On average, studies have shown that EV batteries are expected to last at least 8-10 years. Reducing degradation can be helped by taking good care of the battery and following good battery charging habits.
Destination Charging
Destination Charging is the term used for charging points that are located at your destination. This can be your hotel, a shopping centre or sporting venue where you may be going to spend some time. Public charge points at these locations are usually fast charging.
Eco Mode
Eco Mode is a driving mode that helps the car work in an efficient way to help extend the electric range of the power available from the battery. This can include things such as reducing the heating fan power or regenerating energy from the brakes.
ESG
ESG means Environmental, Social, and Governance. These terms refer to the three central factors typically used in evaluating the sustainability and ethical impact of a company or an investment.
FCEV
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) are powered by hydrogen. They are more efficient than conventional ICE vehicles and produce no tailpipe emissions – they only emit water vapour and warm air. FCEVs and the hydrogen infrastructure to fuel them are in the early stages of implementation.
Formula E
Formula E is a car racing series where the cars, similar in design to an F1 race car, are powered purely by batteries. All the fun without the earplugs. The series was introduced in 2014 and has helped develop the batteries we see in EVs today.
GHG
This is the abbreviation for greenhouse gas. C20 is a greenhouse gas that electric cars do not emit whilst driving.
Gigafactory
This is the term used for EV battery production factories. First used by Tesla but adopted by the industry. These are becoming a vital part of infrastructure to support the growth of EVs in the future. And can be seen around the world supporting the manufacturers of EVs.
HEV
A Hybrid Electric Vehicle is a petrol or diesel car that also has a small electric motor and battery. HEVs don’t have a plug, instead, they get their power from the engine or through regenerative braking.
Home Charging Point
Home Charging Points make owning an electric car much easier. Usually, they’ll come in the form of a wall box that’s installed at your home and enable quicker charging than the standard three-pin plug charging seen on early EVs.
Hybrid
Hybrid cars come in many shapes and sizes. They combine either a petrol or diesel engine with an electric battery and motor to create a vehicle that emits less carbon dioxide. Plug-in hybrids contain a bigger battery and can be recharged.
ICE
An Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is a traditional engine that typically runs on either petrol or diesel. In 2030 there will be a ban on the sale of new ICE vehicles in the UK when only EVs or PHEV will be permitted to be sold as new.
Inverter
Inverters switch AC currents from the mains into DC currents for your car’s battery. Inverters are also fitted to rapid charging points so that they can invert the current before charging your car to make the process quicker.
kW
A Kilowatt is a measurement of electric power. Find out more here.
kWh
A kilowatt-hour is a unit of measurement for calculating how much electricity you’ve used and how large a battery is. Find out more here.
Lead Acid
This is an older type of battery that has since been phased out and replaced by the more efficient Lithium-Ion battery. As time goes on, even more efficient methods of production and composition are being introduced.
Li-ion
Lithium-ion is the type of battery that is used in electric cars, phones and laptops.
MHEV
A Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle can be either petrol or diesel and will usually come with a 48-volt system that includes an extra battery. This helps assist the engine as well as power onboard tech. MHEV batteries don’t have enough power to run the car on electrical energy alone.
NEDC
The New European Driving Cycle was the old system for measuring fuel economy and pollutants. This was replaced by the much more accurate WLTP testing.
NOx
Nitrogen Oxides are a polluting gas ICE vehicles emit.
OZEV
The Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles is a team working across the government to support the transition to zero-emission vehicles. This used to be called the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). Find out more.
OZEV Grant
This is a grant that the Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles offers on some electric vehicles to promote the uptake of these cars across the UK.
PHEV
A Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle is a petrol or diesel car that also has an electric battery that can be plugged in and charged up. Unlike a MHEV, a PHEV can run on electric power alone before switching to petrol/diesel when the battery runs flat.
PiCG
The Plug-in Car Grant scheme is run by the Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles and is designed to make new electric cars more affordable. The grant has fallen steadily since its introduction. For the latest updates, visit the government’s page here.
Preconditioning/Pre-Heating
Preconditioning is a feature where you can schedule your electric car to heat its interior before you get in. If you change your car up overnight, the heating can be scheduled for the morning where it will be heated using the mains electricity and will not reduce your range before setting off.
Quadricycle
This is the official classification for microEVs such as the Renault Twizy and Citroen Ami. These vehicles are exempt from certain safety rules as a result.
Range
The Range is the distance, usually displayed in miles, that an EV can travel on a full battery charge, according to the manufacturer and classified as WLTP. We now also see ‘real world’ ranges which are based on actual driving tests and historic data allowing for road and weather conditions among other factors.
Range Anxiety
This is the fear of running out of charge before reaching your destination or another charge point.
Rapid Charging
This type of charging will usually charge your vehicle up in under an hour. They charge at speeds of 43kW and up. Find out more here.
RDE
The Real Driving Emissions test accompanies WLTP testing and puts cars through a variety of driving conditions.
REx
Range extenders – or an extended-range electric vehicle – is a car that’s like a traditional PHEV but operates only on electric power. A small lightweight petrol motor is on board that recharges the battery as you drive, meaning the electric motor will always be powering the wheels. Another term used for these vehicles is an E-REV or a REEV.
RFID Card
RFID cards are a way of paying for electricity at charge points. As contactless payments become the standard, RFID cards will slowly be phased out.
RFL
The Road Fund Licence is a fee that’s paid to the government in exchange for using UK roads.
Second Use Battery
This term is related to a battery’s use, after being removed from an EV. Batteries can be recycled for numerous uses, such as home storage batteries.
Self-charging Hybrid
Another term for a Hybrid Electric Vehicle, an ICE car that has a small battery to assist with some driving features. This battery cannot be recharged through plugging-in, instead it relies on the combustion engine and regenerative braking to add charge.
Smart Charging
Smart charging allows you to program the charging of your EV. It allows you to add charge at the right time to your EV, to accommodate home charging tariffs or additional car charging. This feature is now common for home charging solutions and can be controlled from your mobile phone.
SoC
State of Charge is the measurement of the current battery’s charge, for example 25%.
Solid State Battery
A new technology for EVs that is still some years away. It promises even quicker charge times and capacities, able to add charge super quick, 100 miles of charge in 2-3 minutes. We might see the introduction of ‘Semi’ solid state batteries earlier as a practical first step.
Supercharger
The Supercharger network in relation to EVs, is the network operated by Tesla, once reserved for Tesla drivers only. Tesla have recently opened many of the charging locations so they can be used to charge any EVs.
Three Pin
This is the standard UK plug that can be used for charging electric vehicles. However, charging with a three-pin plug charger is not recommended as a permanent solution due to the slow charge times and safety.
Trickle Charging
A Trickle Charge is the slowest way to charge an EV and carries little benefit. The standard three-pin plug will provide trickle charging; however, this is not advised because these chargers lack certain safety features.
Turtle Mode
Also referred to as Reduced Power Mode or Driving Power Reduced Mode, Turtle Mode kicks in when your car is about to run out of power. It uses all the energy it has left to enable you to pull over and add charge.
Type 1
A circular charging plug that has five pins and a clip. Pretty rare in the UK, more commonly seen in the US Market. Find out more here.
Type 2
Type 2 is one of the most common charging connections for EVs and has become standard on all new EVs. It has seven pins and a flat edge. See our charging connection guide for more information. Find out more here.
ULEV
An Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle is a car that emits less than 75g of CO2 per km (g/km) from its tailpipe.
ULEZ
The Ultra-Low Emission Zone is an area in London where high polluting vehicles get charged a daily rate if they drive within its borders. See our separate guide – <‘link to come’>.
V2G
Vehicle to Grid is a feature that allows you to send excess power stored in your car battery, back to your home. The correct type of charger and additional equipment is normally required. V2G allows power to be fed back even further to the Electric Grid.
V2H
Vehicle to Home is like Vehicle to Grid except you can only move power back into your home.
V2L
Vehicle to Load means that you can use your electric car to power external devices. This can power any electrical devices whilst you are on the road, for example a kettle, if you fancy a cheeky cuppa.
VED
Vehicle Excise Duty, also known as road tax. This is the annual charge levied by the government for using your EV on a public road. However, as the cost is based on the emissions, and EVs have no tailpipe emissions, there is currently no cost, although, with increased EV adoption it is expected that a charge will be levied in future years.
Voltage
This measures the power of electricity. Higher voltage cars tend to be more powerful and quicker to charge up.
WLTP
The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), was mandated and introduced in 2018 to provide a tested measurement for CO2 emissions and Fuel economy for all passenger cars and vans in the EU. For our EVs, this included measuring the electric range that the car could be driven. The testing is conducted in a laboratory across different temperatures to reflect real-world driving conditions with the aim of being more accurate than the manufacturers claims.
ZEV
A Zero Emission Vehicle is a term used for any car that does not emit any C02. Currently, this covers electric and hydrogen cars.