Electric vs hybrid vs plug-in hybrid: What's the difference in electrified cars?

With the growing awareness about vehicular emission and its impact on climate change, consumers are increasingly inclining towards a greener and electrified vehicles. These include battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars. While all these greener vehicles are positioned in the electrified vehicle segment, the technology and functioning of these vehicles are very different from each other.

Here is a quick look at what makes the three types of electrified vehicles different from each other.

Electric vehicles

Electric vehicles come as fully electric without any petrol or diesel engine as powertrain backup. While current electric vehicles come offering a cruising range of up to 800 km on a single charge, the majority of electric vehicles come offering up to 560 km cruising range. The electric vehicle driving experience is different from a traditional fossil-fuel-powered vehicle. The majority of the EVs offer a rush of power from a stop. Also, they come with regenerative braking. EVs work fine in an urban driving environment in the bumper-to-bumper traffic but offer less mileage on highways.

Hybrid vehicles

A hybrid vehicle comes combining two powertrains, one petrol engine and one electric motor. Both of these work together for maximum efficiency. In case, the engine shuts off completely, the vehicle runs on battery power. However, this technology is available in a select number of hybrid vehicles. The battery in hybrid cars is charged by energy generated from braking or petrol engines directly. Hybrid cars not only offer a higher range but save fuel as well.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles

Plug-in hybrid vehicles are also called PHEVs. These vehicles can run on fully electric power for a select range. Once the battery is drained, PHEVs operate like conventional hybrids and switch between petrol and electric powertrain seamlessly. These vehicles need to be charged daily to get the maximum EV range.