The EV glossary: every acronym, translated

kWh (kilowatt-hour)

The amount of energy in the battery — the EV equivalent of fuel-tank size. A 60kWh battery holds enough for roughly 400–450km in a mid-size SUV.

kW (kilowatt)

The speed of charging — how fast energy flows. A 350kW charger can theoretically fill a 60kWh battery in ~10 minutes; the car's own limit is usually the bottleneck.

CCS2

Combined Charging System, type 2 — the DC fast-charging plug on virtually every EV sold in Australia. The bottom two pins do DC; the top is the Type 2 AC plug.

Type 2

The AC charging plug standard in Australia — home wallboxes and destination chargers. Bring your own cable; most posts are untethered.

NACS

Tesla's North American Charging Standard plug. In Australia it only matters at Superchargers — AU-delivered cars of all brands use CCS2.

CHAdeMO

The legacy Japanese DC standard (older Nissan Leafs). Phasing out — no new EV uses it.

WLTP

Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure — the lab range figure on every spec sheet. Expect 80–90% of it in mixed real driving, 70–80% at highway speed.

Wh/km

Efficiency: watt-hours per kilometre. Lower is better. 140 Wh/km is excellent; 180+ is thirsty. This number decides your running cost more than battery size.

LFP

Lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry. Cheaper, very durable, tolerant of 100% daily charging — but slightly heavier and less energy-dense than NMC. Used by BYD, base Teslas, MG.

NMC

Nickel manganese cobalt battery chemistry. More energy per kg (longer range) but prefers daily charging capped at 80–90%.

V2L

Vehicle-to-load: power appliances from the car via an adaptor — camping fridges, tools, even parts of your house in a blackout (with proper switching gear).

800V architecture

A high-voltage platform enabling ultra-fast charging (250kW+) and better efficiency. Found in Hyundai Ioniq 5/6, Kia EV6/EV9, Zeekr, Xpeng, Porsche/Audi premium EVs.

DC fast charging

Charging that bypasses the car's onboard AC charger and feeds the battery directly — the 20–40 minute road-trip stops. "DC" and "fast" are used interchangeably.

AC charging

Slower charging through the car's onboard charger (7–22kW) — home wallboxes, destination chargers, shopping centres. Overnight, not en-route.

10–80% time

The honest fast-charging metric. Charging slows dramatically above 80%, so spec sheets quote 10–80%. Plan road trips around this, not 0–100%.

Charging curve

How charging speed varies with battery level — fast when empty, slow when nearly full. Two cars with the same "peak kW" can charge very differently.

FBT exemption

Fringe Benefits Tax exemption for eligible EVs under the LCT threshold — the policy that makes novated leases save $4,000–9,000/year. Battery-electric only since April 2025.

Novated lease

Salary-packaged car lease: payments come from pre-tax salary via your employer. Combined with the FBT exemption, it's Australia's biggest EV discount.

ANCAP

Australasian New Car Assessment Program — the independent crash-test star rating. 5 stars is table stakes for family cars.

Regen (regenerative braking)

The motor acting as a generator when you lift off, recovering energy into the battery. Strong regen enables one-pedal driving and barely-touched brake pads.

SoH (state of health)

Battery capacity now vs when new, as a percentage. The single most important number when buying a used EV. 90%+ is healthy.

Drive-away price

The on-road price including rego, stamp duty and delivery — the number that matters. Compare drive-away, never list price.

The two questions everyone asks

What is the difference between kW and kWh?

kW is speed, kWh is size. A 350kW charger is a fast pump; a 60kWh battery is the tank. Your charging time is tank size divided by pump speed — limited by whichever is smaller, including the car's own maximum.

What does WLTP range mean in real life?

It's a lab figure from a gentle test cycle. In Australia expect 80–90% of it in mixed driving and 70–80% at sustained highway speed. Our guides and route plans use real-world figures, not WLTP.