What are the types of electric vehicles available in the market?
1. Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
In Battery electric vehicle, all the energy that powers the car comes from a battery pack. This energy is channeled through the car's power electronics to an electric motor that converts the electrical energy to mechanical energy. A BEV does not have an internal combustion engine to drive a generator for battery recharging. The range of the vehicle between charges depends on the storage capacity of the vehicle's battery pack. As a result, many BEVs have a more limited range than the other two types of plug-in electric vehicles. The content of BEV's is increasing, and some recent models have over 300 miles of range. This trend will increase as battery research continues to evolve battery chemistries. Some newer electric vehicles have dual motors that include electric motors in the front and the back, while still having one charging receptacle. This has been done to add more power to the vehicle.
2. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)
The term hybrid, as it relates to the automotive market, refers to a vehicle with both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. A computer in this type of vehicle determines which kind of motor propels the car at any time based on various factors. Although a hybrid vehicle has a battery, the battery is only charged by its generator and during regeneration. Therefore, this type of car is never connected to charging. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a more recent type of hybrid vehicle.
There are two main types of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, series hybrid, and parallel hybrid. The series hybrid is also referred to as an extended range hybrid electric vehicle (EREV). A parallel PHEV functions similarly to a standard hybrid car in that the driving force for the vehicle can come from either an internal combustion engine or an electric motor. In addition to the internal battery charging that occurs, a parallel PHEV can connect to an external charger. This last feature allows the vehicle manufacturer to employ more flexible strategies for using the electric drive system. There is an increasing number of PHEVs on the road, and most manufacturers of standard hybrid vehicles now offer PHEV models.
3. Extended Range Hybrid Electric Vehicle (EREV)
A series of PHEV is also referred to as an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV). In reality, however, the vehicle range is not what differentiates an EREV from a parallel PHEV.
The only key difference is that, while the EREV has both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, all the vehicle's driving force comes from the electric motor. The internal combustion engine is used to turn a generator that recharges the battery pack.
This means that an EREV has a smaller internal combustion engine than a parallel PHEV but typically has a larger battery pack. The larger battery pack reduces or eliminates the internal combustion engine's use when the vehicle is driven locally with daily plug-in recharging.
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