Fuel Type Guide

ACRISS Fuel Type Codes & Definitions

These codes are used in our ACRISS Car code lists to denote the fuel type of a specific model especially with the emergence and variances between different hybrid and electric models. These codes and definitions are to be used in conjunction with the new EV ranges and Co2g/km standards and help determine which 4th letter of the matrix code to be used.

P:  Petrol vehicles with no additional electric-drive technology. Both manual and automatic gearboxes available.

D:  Diesel vehicles with no additional electric-drive technology. Both manual and automatic gearboxes available.

MHEV: Mild hybrid electric vehicle which are either petrol or diesel, manual or automatic. System comprises a small electric motor and 48V battery, which extends the ‘engine off’ stop-start range. Cannot drive on pure electric power. Do not need to be plugged in.

HEV: Hybrid electric vehicle,  usually petrol but some diesel hybrids (e.g. Mercedes-Benz) are available. Offers a small range of pure electric running, usually a mile or so. Also delivers an extended range of low-speed pure electric drive: in the city, some hybrids can run as an EV 50 percent of the time. Sometimes called ‘self-charging hybrids’ as they do not need to be plugged in.

PHEV: Plug-in electric vehicle, almost always petrol but can be diesel. Delivers an extended range of pure electric running – over 30 miles is usually available. They do this by using bigger batteries that have to be plugged in to recharge, which usually takes a couple of hours. Becoming increasingly common as manufacturers seek to lower corporate CO2 emissions. However, they are little more fuel-efficient than a regular car when the batteries are fully discharged.

BEV: Battery electric vehicle which are 100 percent pure electric, powered by lithium-ion batteries and driven by an electric motor all the time. Always automatic with Air Conditioning as standard. Range is measured in miles, battery capacity in kWh. The only guaranteed ‘zero CO2’ type of vehicle on sale.

FCEV:  Hydrogen Fuel Cell EV cars powered using a hydrogen fuel system. Fuel cells consume hydrogen and oxygen from the air, producing only electricity, water and heat as by-products with no CO2 or toxic emissions.

The above fuel types can be used with the 4th letter of the Car Classification code matrix  "Fuel/AirCon"    

For further information on hybrid and electric cars and codes see Hybrid and Electric

Downloadable version:   ACRISS Fuel Type Guide