With greener cars more accessible and more affordable than ever before, by utilising a Car Subscription service, allows you to evaluate the electric or hybrid cars in your day-to-day life or commute before committing long-term.
With an ever-growing range of both electric and hybrid vehicles coming to the market, car subscription providers are jumping on the bandwagon to provide their clients with electric or hybrid options.
Utilising our vehicle subscription companies, via our website you have access to a great range of makes and models from manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Polestar, Tesla, Jaguar, Nissan, Kia, Porsche, Toyota, Renault, Hyundai, MINI, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Choosing your Electric or Hybrid Car
BEV, PHEV or HEV
There are many abbreviations when it comes to hybrid or electric vehicles from BEV to PHEV, but what do these all mean?
BEV – Battery Electric Vehicle
Battery Electric Vehicles are essentially Pure Electric Vehicles. They utilise a large capacity battery that drives an electric motor. They do not emit any CO2 emissions or NOx gases with these vehicles becoming extremely popular with company car drivers, due to the low benefit-in-kind.
With BEV’s being the cheapest cars per mile when compared to a Hybrid car, the vehicles are coming down in price and the benefits of the lower prices are helping to equalise the options between a Pure Electric Car and an internal combustion-engined vehicle.
Not everyone is suited to an electric car and one of the most important factors to consider is charging. Whilst the network of electric chargers is growing in the UK, it can still prove difficult if you don’t do your homework before completely committing.
The future is looking bright, with the range of battery increasing as technology progresses, some of the newer cars offer a range of between 200 and 350 miles, ideal for those burning the motorway miles or a general commute.
PHEV – Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle
A Plug-in Hybrid car also has a battery pack similar to a BEV, but the capacity of this battery is much smaller with most Plug-in Hybrids offering a range on electric-only of around 22-50 miles depending on the make/model.
The plus side to this type of Hybrid car is that the car will also have an internal combustion engine, either Petrol or Diesel. Once the battery range has depleted the engine will automatically kick in and uses conventional fuel.
Many vehicles offer several modes including a Hybrid mode, the car’s computer will automatically switch between battery or engine to provide the most fuel-efficient journey.
Plugin-Hybrids are ideal for those who have a daily commute to the office where the journeys can be done in 100% electric mode, saving you money and doing your bit for the environment.
HEV – Hybrid Electric Vehicle
Just like the PHEV, the HEV has a battery and either a Petrol or a Diesel engine. The battery in these models is smaller again than a PHEV and the on-board electric motors tend to assist the engine in achieving fuel efficiency.
The battery recharges itself by collecting excess energy from the car, this can be from cruising or brake regeneration with the electric motors kicking in at slow speeds (eg in traffic) or coasting.
Hybrid cars are ideal for those who don’t want the hassle of plugging in the car to charge it and those who want better miles to the gallon than conventional internal combustion-engined vehicles.
Compare Car Subscriptions
If you’re in the market for a Hybrid or Electric vehicle, a car subscription is a great way to evaluate using it in your day-to-day life. Use the car-subscriptions.co.uk website to easily compare the different vehicle subscription providers in the UK including those that offer inclusive insurance or those that offer truly flexible contracts.
