Clean air vehicle (CAV)

A CAV is a vehicle that emits significantly fewer pollutants than traditional gasoline- or diesel- powered vehicles. While there is no specific definition of what constitutes a clean air vehicle because regulations vary from region to region, the vehicles considered to be CAVs include:

• Battery electric vehicle (BEV) – A vehicle with an electric motor powered by batteries that plug into the electric grid to charge

• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) – A vehicle with both an electric motor powered by batteries that plug into the electric grid to charge and a combustion engine fueled by gasoline

• Fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) – A vehicle with an electric motor powered by a hydrogen fuel cell

In some regions, other technologies are also considered CAVs:

• Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) – A vehicle with both a combustion engine fueled by gasoline and an electric motor powered with batteries that are charged by regenerative braking as well as energy generated by the combustion engine

• Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle – A vehicle with a combustion engine modified to run on natural gas