Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News! Plugin vehicles in China once again ended the year with a record month, growing by 46% year over year (YoY) in the last month of the year to a record 1,379,000 units. Full electrics ... [continued]
  • @Buffalox
    8•3 days ago

    https://cleantechnica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-12-China-Top-20-Model-December.png

    A lot of those cars are NOT electric, but ICE cars with an electric add on so we call them hybrid.
    It’s complete bullshit to call a hybrid car electric. Maybe it would also be bullshit to call them ICE cars, because they are HYBRID for fucks sake.

    It’s equivalent to call an 18 wheeler Truck a passenger car, because it can take 1 passenger next to the driver. But that would of course not be within the standard classification. So how is it OK to call a hybrid an electric?
    https://www.acea.auto/fact/passenger-cars-what-they-are-and-why-they-are-so-important/

      • @Buffalox
        7•3 days ago

        Only one of those is an actual EV, the others are different forms of hybrid.
        Which leads me to another point. That the BEV term is also ridiculous, because it’s the ONLY form of EV that is actually an EV, so the B is redundant.

        This is marketing bullshit to mislead politicians to grant advantages to non EV cars. And it should be illegal to call a hybrid an EV, because it’s not.
        The worst is possibly the EREV which is not just misleading, but 100% misleading, as it’s a car that drives 100% on gas only. It runs on an ICE engine that supplies continuous power. The electricity serves about the same function as a transmission does in an ICE car, transferring that power to the wheels. Who the hell would call a normal car a TRANSMISSION car? It’s obviously not TRANSMISSION powered!!!

        This pisses me off, it should not be legal to use such misleading terms. They are bundling apples and oranges and calling it the same.

        In an ICE car EVERYTHING except the engine is electric, and it has a battery required to work. By the above standard, an ICE car is electric too.
        So whats next? ICEV!! Which in fact all but the BEV in the picture you posted are.

        PS:
        I’m not scolding you, you did fine posting that accurate picture of the different terms. 🥰
        I’m scolding the ones bundling all of the above together as if they somehow are the same thing, when clearly they are not.

        • @[email protected]
          5•3 days ago

          A plug-in hybrid is kinda like you built a BEV and an ICE into the same car - I wouldn’t say that one should be called all electric, but it’s at least capable of pretending to be one.

          • @Buffalox
            5•3 days ago

            A plug-in hybrid is kinda like you built a BEV and an ICE into the same car

            Absolutely, which is why it’s neither electric or ICE, it’s a hybrid.

        • @madnificent
          2•3 days ago

          To my understanding EREV, like the i3 pictured in models with the optional ICE, is mostly driven on battery power with the generator as a backup. It doesn’t even provide full power when running on the generator whilst the battery is low. I don’t know of examples of EREV without a battery or with a tiny battery which would be classified as EREV but would like to see examples. I know of some studies showing lowered fuel consumption but nothing for consumers.

          I would understand your frustration towards EREV in the cases where it’s mainly burning fuel as that’s indeed not BEV at all.

          • @Buffalox
            1•3 days ago

            It’s true the gas engine isn’t always on, but the EREV systems I know of, charge battery exclusively from the gas engine, not even a plugin option. This means an EREV at least CAN be 100% powered by gas, meaning it’s more an ICE car than an EV.

        • @madnificent
          2•3 days ago

          Did not look thus up, do verify if necessary.

          EREV is a BEV with a backup engine. PHEV is mainly a combustion engine vehicle with a limited electric drivetrain bolted on.

          EREV powers a generator to drive the electric drivetrain. The electric drivetrain is the only drivetrain and must thus provide the full functionality. The intent is to drive fully electric and have an emergency backup. Markets place maxima on the amount of fuel the fuel tank may carry in some markets (eg: 10L).

          PHEV has the dino burning engine drive the wheels and an electric drivetrain. The battery can be charged. The electric drivetrain often doesn’t provide the full functionality (eg: it has too limited power and and may be limited to low speeds).