IS THE GRASS GREENER? Vehicle electrification explained

Vehicle emission standards have become progressively more stringent since their introduction in the US in 1968. At the November 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, 197 countries agreed to limit global warming to less than 2°C versus pre-industrial levels. Many governments have since introduced stricter vehicle emission limits and some have committed to future bans of the internal combustion engine (ICE). Vehicle manufacturers responded in kind with the introduction of electrification programmes to achieve these targets. The following provides an overview of the most common electrification solutions.

HYBRID-ELECTRIC VEHICLE (HEV)

HEVs use both an ICE and at least one electric motor as a means of propulsion. Within this description there are myriad drivetrain architectures, each with different objectives regarding cost, performance and packaging, utilising varying proportions of electric energy to drive the vehicle. Irrespective of drivetrain differences, HEVs all provide improvements in fuel consumption, vehicle emissions and driving performance.

Combining an electric motor,