Scheduled Maintenance

The site may be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance from Friday, May 3rd starting at 8 PM CDT through Monday, May 6th.
During this time, the website may not be available. If you experience issues, please check back later.
Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Close
MENU

Follow us on @Ask_ICAR for daily updates.

Home / Collision Repair News / Understanding Hybrid And Electric Vehicle Names

Understanding Hybrid And Electric Vehicle Names

Posted on 07 May 2021 | Share: | Print Print

As more hybrid and electric vehicles appear on OEM sales and service information sites, it can be difficult to determine what type of vehicle it is. This is partly because there are so many names and terms used for the different powertrains out there. Despite all the different names, most people refer to all of these vehicles simply as an electric vehicle (EV). The RTS Team created this article to help you better understand the difference between the terms.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that the term electric vehicle refers to a vehicle that operates with a battery ONLY, and without the addition of gasoline or other types of fuel.

All hybrid, fuel cell, and electric vehicles are high-voltage (HV), meaning they have an electrical system that is 60-volt DC (30-volt AC) and higher.

All vehicles under the high-voltage category are as follows:

  • Hybrid vehicles
  • Fuel cell vehicles
  • Electric vehicles

Many OEMs have their own terms for the above categories. Here are some examples of the terms you may see on sales and service information sites:

  • Hybrid
    • Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)
    • Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)/(PHV)
    • Parallel hybrid truck (PHT)
    • Mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV)
    • Full hybrid electric vehicle (FHEV)
    • Hybrid vehicle (HV)
    • Sport hybrid vehicle
    • Hybrid (H) vehicle
    • 2-mode hybrid
    • eAssist
  • Fuel cell
    • Fuel cell (FC) vehicle
    • Fuel cell electric vehicle
  • Electric
    • Electric vehicle (EV)
    • Battery electric vehicle (BEV)
    • Pure electric vehicle

Keep in mind that no matter what the vehicle is called, there are important safety procedures that should be researched and followed, as there are different vehicle-specific procedures necessary to help ensure a complete, safe, and quality repair.

Additional I-CAR Collision Repair News you may find helpful:

Related I-CAR Courses

Course I-CAR Hybrid And Electric Vehicle Courses

Top Ten Vehicle Specific Questions

Hyundai Does Hyundai have a sectioning procedure available?
Kia Does Kia have a sectioning procedure available?
Chevrolet Does Chevrolet have a warning against sectioning when there is no procedure?
BMW Can I-CAR send me BMW repair procedures?
Hyundai Does Hyundai have part replacement procedures available?
Honda What does Honda say about repairing damaged airbag system wiring harnesses?
Mercedes-Benz Can I-CAR send me Mercedes-Benz repair procedures?
Honda What does Honda say about straightening front lower rails?
Subaru Do you have to replace a front passenger airbag on a Subaru even if the airbag did not deploy? The repair information seems to indicate that it should.
Nissan Is there a wiring repair procedure for the airbag connector?

Top Ten I-CAR Specific Questions

What does I-CAR say about using a recycled quarter panel assembly that includes the inner, outer, and reinforcements?
What does I-CAR say about straightening a kink?
Can I-CAR General Sectioning Guidelines be used?
What does I-CAR say about repairing damaged door intrusion beams?
What does I-CAR say about the decision to use recycled parts?
What does I-CAR say about replacing suspension parts in pairs?
What does I-CAR say about repairing damaged bumper reinforcements?
What does I-CAR say about repair tolerances?
What does I-CAR say about using recycled airbags?
What does I-CAR say about repairing damaged crush boxes?