Electric and hybrid vehicles are more popular than ever with more than 500,000 “green” cars on the UK roads.
Sales have risen at quite some pace in 2019, with more than 114,000 alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) registered up to the end of September. This figure is up by almost 22% on the same period last year.
Take a look at our alternative fuel leasing deals here and of course our team are on hand to answer any questions you may have about leasing an electric, hybrid or PHEV car, but in the meantime, here’s a bit of a jargon buster!
AFV - alternatively fuelled vehicle
An AFV is any car that doesn’t exclusively use a conventional petrol or diesel engine.
EV - electric vehicle
This term is used for cars that run solely on electricity.
Hybrid vehicle
A vehicle that is powered by both a fuel engine and an electric motor.
Many hybrids will switch between the two ‘modes’ when driving conditions are best suited to that particular form of power.
Mild Hybrid
Mild hybrids (also known as power-assist hybrids, battery-assisted hybrid vehicles or BAHVs) are generally cars with an internal combustion engine equipped with an electric machine (one motor/generator in a parallel hybrid configuration) allowing the engine to be turned off whenever the car is coasting, braking, or stopped, yet restart quickly. Mild hybrids may employ regenerative brakingand some level of power assist to the internal combustion engine (ICE), but mild hybrids do not have an electric-only mode of propulsion
PHEV – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle.
A type of hybrid car with a particularly good range of electric power thanks to a large propulsion battery.
Range
The distance any given electric vehicle can travel, from full charge, before it would run out and require charging again.
Range extender
A car with a range extender runs on electricity but has a small petrol or diesel engine that is used to produce electricity to recharge the batteries and extend the car's range. The petrol/diesel engine does not power the wheels.
Wallbox or home charger
If you lease an electric car, you can get a home charging station installed. These come in either slow 3kW or faster 7kW and 22kW forms.
Public chargers
There are currently about 17,000 public charging points in the UK, and this number is growing.
It is now a legal requirement for all large petrol stations and motorway services to provide charging points.
80% charge
Manufacturers often quote a charging time to 80%, rather than 100% or fully charged. This is because not fully charging each time extends the life of the battery, so is recommended, and also because the last 20% takes longer to complete relative to the first 80%.
If you have any other questions about electric car leasing or leasing a hybrid car contact us.