Electric Car Glossary: 38 EV Terms Explained

In shortPlain-English definitions of the terms you will meet when buying, charging and owning an electric car, from BEV and kWh to V2G and NACS.

800-volt architecture: An electrical system design that allows much faster DC charging than traditional 400-volt systems, found in models such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Battery degradation: The gradual loss of battery capacity over time and use. Typical real-world loss is roughly 1.5 to 2.5% per year.
BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle): A car powered only by a battery and electric motor, with no combustion engine. It is plugged in to charge and has no tailpipe emissions.
Carbon breakeven: The distance after which an EV's lower running emissions have paid back its higher manufacturing emissions, commonly 20,000 to 40,000 km.
CCS (Combined Charging System): A common charging connector standard that supports both AC and DC fast charging. Used by most non-Tesla EVs in Europe and North America.
CHAdeMO: A DC fast-charging connector standard used mainly by older Japanese EVs such as early Nissan Leafs. Its network is shrinking.
DC fast charging: High-power direct-current charging, typically 50 to 350 kW, used on motorways. It can charge from 10% to 80% in about 18 to 45 minutes.
Efficiency (kWh per 100 km): How much electricity a car uses to travel 100 km. Lower is better, like fuel economy.
EPA range: The driving range estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It is generally closer to real-world results than WLTP figures.
FCEV (Fuel Cell Vehicle): A car that makes electricity on board from hydrogen. It is refuelled with hydrogen rather than plugged in, and refuelling stations are scarce.
Heat pump: An efficient heating and cooling system that uses less energy than resistive heaters, helping preserve range in cold weather.
HEV (Hybrid): A car that combines a petrol engine with a small battery that recharges itself while driving. It cannot be plugged in.
kW (kilowatt): A unit of power. It describes how fast a motor delivers energy or how fast a charger fills a battery.
kWh (kilowatt-hour): A unit of energy used to measure battery capacity, like the size of a fuel tank. A 60 kWh battery can deliver 60 kW for one hour.
Level 1 charging: Charging from a standard household socket, adding roughly 6 to 12 km of range per hour. Suitable only for very low daily mileage.
Level 2 charging: AC charging from a wall box or public AC charger at roughly 3.7 to 22 kW. It is the usual way to charge overnight at home.
LFP battery: Lithium iron phosphate: a battery chemistry with no cobalt or nickel. It is cheaper, durable and safe, with lower energy density than NMC.
Lifecycle emissions (LCA): The total greenhouse gases of a vehicle across manufacturing, energy production, use and end of life, not only the tailpipe.
Low-emission zone (LEZ): A city area where the most polluting vehicles are restricted or charged. EVs are usually exempt.
Mild hybrid (MHEV): A petrol or diesel car with a small battery that assists the engine slightly to save fuel. It cannot drive on electricity alone.
NACS (North American Charging Standard): Tesla's charging connector, now adopted by many automakers in North America. Adapters let other cars use Tesla Superchargers.
NMC battery: Nickel manganese cobalt: a battery chemistry with high energy density, common in long-range EVs. It uses nickel and cobalt.
Onboard charger: The component inside an EV that converts AC power from a wall socket into DC power for the battery. It limits AC charging speed.
One-pedal driving: A driving mode where lifting off the accelerator slows the car strongly through regenerative braking, so you rarely need the brake pedal.
PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid): A car with both a battery you can plug in and a petrol or diesel engine. It drives short distances on electricity, then uses the engine for longer trips.
Preconditioning: Warming or cooling the battery and cabin before driving or charging, ideally while plugged in, to improve range and charging speed.
Regenerative braking: A system that turns braking energy back into electricity to recharge the battery, reducing energy waste and brake wear.
Second-life battery: A used EV battery that no longer suits a car (typically below 70 to 80% capacity) but is reused for stationary energy storage.
Solid-state battery: An emerging battery type that replaces the liquid electrolyte with a solid one. It promises higher energy density and safety but is not yet in mass production.
State of charge (SoC): How full the battery is, shown as a percentage from 0% to 100%.
State of health (SoH): A measure of how much of its original capacity a battery still has. A reading of 90% means the battery holds 90% of its new capacity.
Total cost of ownership (TCO): The full cost of a car over time: purchase price, energy, insurance, maintenance and depreciation, minus incentives and resale value.
Type 2 connector: The standard AC charging plug in Europe and many other regions, also called Mennekes.
V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid): A system where parked EVs send electricity back to the grid when it is needed, helping balance renewable power.
V2H (Vehicle-to-Home): A system where the EV battery feeds electricity back to a house, for backup power or to use stored solar energy. It needs a bidirectional charger.
V2L (Vehicle-to-Load): A feature that lets the car's battery power appliances, tools or devices through a socket.
WLTP range: The driving range from the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure used in Europe and other markets. It tends to be more optimistic than EPA.
ZEV mandate: A rule requiring carmakers to sell a rising share of zero-emission vehicles.