Plug-in, hybrid, EV or hydrogen: Which is best for you?

Battery-powered EVs have garnered all the column inches when it comes to alternative-fuel vehicles, although other forms of propulsion are available.
But what's the difference between the various options, and how should fleets decide between them? James Richardson explains all.
Hybrids

Traditional or 'serial' hybrids have been around for a while now, with the Toyota Prius (pictured) being by far and away the most famous example. This is especially true among fleets, to which around 44,000 have been sold since 2000. Hypercars like the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 have all added a bit of sex appeal to the hybrid genre, too, although they use electricity to boost performance, instead of improving economy.
These are essentially petrol-powered cars that use electric motors and batteries to augment the power provided by an internal combustion engine.
Although these vehicles - compared to their plug-in hybrid cousins anyway - don't have much all-electric range (typically less than 10 miles) they are generally more efficient than internal combustion-powered alternatives.
For instance, at low speeds, the car is powered exclusively by electricity before the petrol engine takes over. The electric motor is also used to improve performance where necessary, but in general its main purpose is to help save fuel.
Unlike their plug-in brethren (see below), serial hybrid cars aren't plugged in to charge up their batteries. Instead, these charge themselves as they're driven along and recover energy that would have been otherwise lost under braking to help keep the batteries topped up.
Cars like these are becoming more popular as diesel falls out of fashion and are at their best and most efficient when they spend the majority of their time in town, with plenty of stop-start driving and utilising the electric power as much as possible. They're less at home, however, when they're on the motorway doing relentless miles, where electricity isn't used as much compared to the petrol engine, and so they're not as efficient.
Positive:
Lower P11D prices (generally)
Work well around town
Very quiet and refined
Negative
Nominal electric-only range
Efficiency suffers out of town
Poor on the motorway
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)
These work in a similar way to their serial cousins (see above), but boast a significantly longer electric-only range, thanks to more powerful batteries that need to be plugged in to a mains supply to charge them fully.
More and more plug-in models are becoming available, with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (pictured) proving particularly popular, while company car favourites such as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class can also now be had with a plug socket attached. Thanks to very low official CO2 emissions and no 3% BIK diesel surcharge, they're also more tax efficient.
Generally, these will manage around 30 miles on electric power alone, but once that's gone then the petrol engine (and they are almost exclusively petrol-engined) takes over. Depending on the type of power supply, recharging the batteries can take anywhere between one hour up to around five hours.
Fleets will get the best results from cars like these - in terms of fuel efficiency at least - by helping drivers to ensure that the batteries are always fully charged. This means installing charging points at the office, as well as making drivers aware of how to charge their car at home and at the various public points that are available throughout the UK.
Like serial hybrids, these cars work best around town and over shorter distances when the majority of the journey is covered under electric power alone. This will see fuel bills become considerably lower than an equivalent diesel or petrol car, while the driver will enjoy the full benefits of the very low BIK bills as well.
Positive
Very low official CO2 figures
Shorter charging time than full EVs
Usable electric-only range
Negative
Need to keep the battery topped up
Limited public infrastructure
Inefficient when the battery runs out
Range-extending EVs

Next up, we're looking at range-extending electric vehicles. These are cars that are driven exclusvely by electric motors, but they also include a small internal combustion engine to act as an on-board electricity generator for the batteries.
Obviously, they work at their best when operating on electric power alone and, once the plugged-in battery charge has gone, these do get through fuel remarkably quickly, usually because they've only got relatively small fuel tanks. At the moment, range extenders aren't proving as popular as hybrids or PHEVs, with just one example on sale in the UK - the BMW i3, of which just shy of 2,000 examples were sold in 2016.
Like PHEVs, it's best to keep these charged up from the plug, rather than from the on-board engine in order to ensure maximum efficiency. This will, again, involve educating your drivers about keeping the batteries topped up whenever possible - at the office, when out on the road and at home.
Drivers that rely too much on the extra range offered by the petrol engine will see their fuel economy - and the subsequent running costs - suffer significantly. It's important to remember that these are, essentially, just electric vehicles that can be taken further afield than many standard battery-only electric cars but are more comfortable around town and on other shorter journeys.
Positive
Very low official CO2 figures
Ultra low BIK rates
Much reduced 'range anxiety'
Negative
Need to keep the battery charged
Limited public charging nfrastructure
Poor out of town
Hydrogen fuel cells
Finally, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are seen by some as the ultimate replacement for fossil fuels, but whether or not that's the case remains to be seen. They're certainly the most hi-tech and futuristic of our four.
Basically, they're a mixture between a range extender and a full EV. They are powered solely by electricity, but this doesn't come from a plug and isn't generated by a petrol engine. Instead, it's generated in a hydrogen fuel cell that mixes hydrogen, which is stored in an on-board tank (that can be refilled just like a traditional fuel tank), with oxygen to produce the electricity that drives the electric motors. The biggest advantage of this is that the only waste product generated is water.
At the moment, there are just two fuel-cell cars on sale in the UK - the Toyota Mirai and the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell - and only nominal numbers have been sold thus far. But more, including Honda and BMW examples, are coming in the near future.
There are, however, two major drawbacks to hydrogen cars. Firstly, there are currently only 12 hydrogen filling stations operational in the UK, not all of which are available to the public. They are also monstrously expensive to buy, even with companies selling them at a loss. The lack of infrastructure means these are still vehicles for the future rather than realistic proposals for the majority of fleets, and will only really appeal to those businesses wishing to make a 'green' statement.
Positive
Zero emission transport
Early adopter' rarity value
No 'range anxiety'
Negative
Filling infrastructure still in its infancy
Very expensive to buy

Battery-powered EVs have garnered all the column inches when it comes to alternative-fuel vehicles, although other forms of propulsion are available.
But what's the difference between the various options, and how should fleets decide between them? James Richardson explains all.
Hybrids

Traditional or 'serial' hybrids have been around for a while now, with the Toyota Prius (pictured) being by far and away the most famous example. This is especially true among fleets, to which around 44,000 have been sold since 2000. Hypercars like the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 have all added a bit of sex appeal to the hybrid genre, too, although they use electricity to boost performance, instead of improving economy.
These are essentially petrol-powered cars that use electric motors and batteries to augment the power provided by an internal combustion engine.
Although these vehicles - compared to their plug-in hybrid cousins anyway - don't have much all-electric range (typically less than 10 miles) they are generally more efficient than internal combustion-powered alternatives.
For instance, at low speeds, the car is powered exclusively by electricity before the petrol engine takes over. The electric motor is also used to improve performance where necessary, but in general its main purpose is to help save fuel.
Unlike their plug-in brethren (see below), serial hybrid cars aren't plugged in to charge up their batteries. Instead, these charge themselves as they're driven along and recover energy that would have been otherwise lost under braking to help keep the batteries topped up.
Cars like these are becoming more popular as diesel falls out of fashion and are at their best and most efficient when they spend the majority of their time in town, with plenty of stop-start driving and utilising the electric power as much as possible. They're less at home, however, when they're on the motorway doing relentless miles, where electricity isn't used as much compared to the petrol engine, and so they're not as efficient.
Positive:
Lower P11D prices (generally)
Work well around town
Very quiet and refined
Negative
Nominal electric-only range
Efficiency suffers out of town
Poor on the motorway
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)
These work in a similar way to their serial cousins (see above), but boast a significantly longer electric-only range, thanks to more powerful batteries that need to be plugged in to a mains supply to charge them fully.
More and more plug-in models are becoming available, with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (pictured) proving particularly popular, while company car favourites such as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class can also now be had with a plug socket attached. Thanks to very low official CO2 emissions and no 3% BIK diesel surcharge, they're also more tax efficient.
Generally, these will manage around 30 miles on electric power alone, but once that's gone then the petrol engine (and they are almost exclusively petrol-engined) takes over. Depending on the type of power supply, recharging the batteries can take anywhere between one hour up to around five hours.
Fleets will get the best results from cars like these - in terms of fuel efficiency at least - by helping drivers to ensure that the batteries are always fully charged. This means installing charging points at the office, as well as making drivers aware of how to charge their car at home and at the various public points that are available throughout the UK.
Like serial hybrids, these cars work best around town and over shorter distances when the majority of the journey is covered under electric power alone. This will see fuel bills become considerably lower than an equivalent diesel or petrol car, while the driver will enjoy the full benefits of the very low BIK bills as well.
Positive
Very low official CO2 figures
Shorter charging time than full EVs
Usable electric-only range
Negative
Need to keep the battery topped up
Limited public infrastructure
Inefficient when the battery runs out
Range-extending EVs

Next up, we're looking at range-extending electric vehicles. These are cars that are driven exclusvely by electric motors, but they also include a small internal combustion engine to act as an on-board electricity generator for the batteries.
Obviously, they work at their best when operating on electric power alone and, once the plugged-in battery charge has gone, these do get through fuel remarkably quickly, usually because they've only got relatively small fuel tanks. At the moment, range extenders aren't proving as popular as hybrids or PHEVs, with just one example on sale in the UK - the BMW i3, of which just shy of 2,000 examples were sold in 2016.
Like PHEVs, it's best to keep these charged up from the plug, rather than from the on-board engine in order to ensure maximum efficiency. This will, again, involve educating your drivers about keeping the batteries topped up whenever possible - at the office, when out on the road and at home.
Drivers that rely too much on the extra range offered by the petrol engine will see their fuel economy - and the subsequent running costs - suffer significantly. It's important to remember that these are, essentially, just electric vehicles that can be taken further afield than many standard battery-only electric cars but are more comfortable around town and on other shorter journeys.
Positive
Very low official CO2 figures
Ultra low BIK rates
Much reduced 'range anxiety'
Negative
Need to keep the battery charged
Limited public charging nfrastructure
Poor out of town
Hydrogen fuel cells
Finally, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are seen by some as the ultimate replacement for fossil fuels, but whether or not that's the case remains to be seen. They're certainly the most hi-tech and futuristic of our four.
Basically, they're a mixture between a range extender and a full EV. They are powered solely by electricity, but this doesn't come from a plug and isn't generated by a petrol engine. Instead, it's generated in a hydrogen fuel cell that mixes hydrogen, which is stored in an on-board tank (that can be refilled just like a traditional fuel tank), with oxygen to produce the electricity that drives the electric motors. The biggest advantage of this is that the only waste product generated is water.
At the moment, there are just two fuel-cell cars on sale in the UK - the Toyota Mirai and the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell - and only nominal numbers have been sold thus far. But more, including Honda and BMW examples, are coming in the near future.
There are, however, two major drawbacks to hydrogen cars. Firstly, there are currently only 12 hydrogen filling stations operational in the UK, not all of which are available to the public. They are also monstrously expensive to buy, even with companies selling them at a loss. The lack of infrastructure means these are still vehicles for the future rather than realistic proposals for the majority of fleets, and will only really appeal to those businesses wishing to make a 'green' statement.
Positive
Zero emission transport
Early adopter' rarity value
No 'range anxiety'
Negative
Filling infrastructure still in its infancy
Very expensive to buy
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