Fuel Types Explained

The following guide is here to help explain the different vehicle fuel types that are attached to the the vehicle data on the site

Fuel type is referring to the one or more sources of energy used to drive the vehicle via an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Electric Motor or a combination of the two

Fuel type properties

Property	Electric	Extended Range Electric	Hybrid - petrol/electric or diesel/electric	Hydrogen	Petrol/Diesel	Petrol/Diesel - Mild Hybrid	Plug-in hybrid / Plug-in hybrid diesel
Wheels driven by ICE
Wheels can be driven entirely by Electric motor
Battery charged by ICE
ICE assisted by battery
Plug In to charge batteries

Fuel type descriptions

Electric

Also known as Full electric or Battery Electric (BEV)

Charged from an external cable, though other methods such as battery swap and wireless inductive charging are being trialled.

Extended Range Electric

Also known as EREV or Range Extender

Vehicle driven by electric motor - onboard petrol engine/generator used to charge the battery under high loads.
The Petrol/Diesel engine does not drive the vehicle at all, it only charges the batteries

Hybrid - petrol/electric or diesel/electric

Also known as Full Hybrid

At low speeds an electric motor can drive the vehicle for a few miles only. Stored electricity may also be used to give the main engine a boost.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is not burnt, it is used in a Fuel Cell (FCEV) and is combined with Oxygen using electrolysis, to create electricity and by-products of water and heat.
The hydrogen is kept in pressurised tanks within the vehicle.

Petrol/Diesel

A petrol or diesel engine burns fuel to generate power to drive the vehicle. There is no electric motor to drive or assist in any way at all.

Petrol/Diesel - Mild Hybrid

A mild hybrid uses an enhanced battery to assist the petrol/diesel engine and help improve performance and efficiency.
These improvements come in a variety of ways, including sending additional power to the wheels, powering electrical systems and turning off the engine and letting the vehicle coast.
This means the engine doesn't work as hard, lowering emissions and fuel consumption, though the stored electric energy can also be used to boost performance.

EREV vs Mild hybrid

These 2 are almost opposites. The EREV is driven by electricity and the petrol/diesel helps out when it's needed, e.g. motorway travel to stop the battery going flat long distance
A Mild Hybrid is driven by the petrol/diesel engine, but the electric generator and battery helps the engine out when it can (reducing load on the engine).

Plug-in hybrid / Plug-in hybrid diesel

Also known as PHEV

Vehicle driven by petrol or diesel engine, or by electric motor. Batteries for motor can be charged from an external cable, or by reclaimed energy.