Home » Electric or electrified cars: the explanation of an unstoppable phenomenon

Electric or electrified cars: the explanation of an unstoppable phenomenon

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The numbers speak for themselves: battery-powered cars are the real phenomenon of the moment. According to the latest edition of the Global EV Outlook dell’International Energy Agency, sales of electrified cars (including hybrids) increased – despite the difficulties of the car market – by 16%. And it wasn’t the only revolution, because for the first time we have more than 10 million electrified cars around the planet. China with 4.51 million car sales is always the master, followed by the USA (3.16 million) and Europe (1.78).

How the hybrid car works


A small step back. When we say “electrified” we mean a very wide category of cars: there are the “normal” hybrids; mild hybrids, plug in ones and electric ones as well. But let’s go step by step. The first three categories have two engines (one petrol and one electric). And they all have an additional battery pack, but it’s the size of these elements that makes the difference. The fourth category, however, that of pure electric, has only the engine powered by batteries.

The “mild Hydrid (MHEV, Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle)” are the “entry level” of this world and are the cheapest ever. Here the battery is very small (12V or 48V) and the electric motor often replaces the starter motor, to “help” the vehicle during acceleration. Not only that: the Stop / Start systems (which switch off and on the engines during short stops) are able to accumulate energy here that can be reused at a later time to “help” the internal combustion engine. The big difference with the “normal hybrids” is this: the mild Hydrids can never run exclusively on electric power.

A step above the mild hybrids are the traditional hybrids: they have much larger batteries and a computer to manage which of the two engines (petrol or electric) drives the car. One or both together. The batteries are recharged while driving and there is no need to attach these cars to a column.

At the top of the range are the Hybrid Plug In (PHEV, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), which have even larger batteries and therefore need to be recharged like a pure electric car to give maximum performance. These cars – depending on the case – can also travel for 30-60 km in fully electric mode, that is, without ever having the internal combustion engine intervene. They are the most expensive ever but they allow you to cut fuel consumption and emissions to record levels. How much? Much depends on the cars and the use because it ranges from 0 (if you are traveling only on battery) up to an average of 1.2 or 1.5 liters per 100 km, depending on the case.

Finally, the fourth category is that of “pure” electric, that is, without any other motor other than the electric one. They are identified by the abbreviation EV (Electriv vehicle) or BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), but become Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV, Zero emission Vehicle) only if they are powered by renewable energy.

But let’s get back to the numbers and the graph. As the image on the page shows, the last decade has been characterized by rapid growth for electric cars, although we are still at the beginning of the transition to cleaner and more sustainable mobility. Despite the record – from almost zero to 10.2 million – electric cars and plug-in hybrids represented – out of the total – only 4.6% of global passenger car sales last year. But that’s just the beginning.

In fact, what should not be forgotten is the future perspective: within 20 years, the aim is to have 600 million electric cars in circulation all over the world, out of a total of about one billion cars. Overtaking.

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