ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT ELECTRIC AND HYBRID VEHICLES

What is an electric car?

An electric car is a vehicle whose engine runs on a battery powered by electricity. Do you want to go electric? Discover the DS 100% electric vehicle range now

How does an electric car work?

The motor of an electric vehicle is powered by the energy stored in the battery, which it then converts into mechanical energy to enable the vehicle to move. To find out more about our 100% electric vehicles, discover the DS 3 E-TENSE SUV and N°8 SUV coupé.
What is a plug-in hybrid car?
A Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) is a vehicle with a combustion engine (petrol or diesel) and an electric motor powered by a rechargeable battery. Want to switch to a plug-in hybrid? Discover the DS range of plug-in hybrids now.
How does a plug-in hybrid car work?

The plug-in hybrid car uses the electric motor when starting up, and can run at 100% electric speed up to 83 mph. During phases of heavy acceleration, the different motors (internal combustion and electric) combine to achieve the desired speed.

To find out more about our plug-in hybrids, discover DS 4 and DS 7.

How does a hybrid car work?

The hybrid vehicle charges intelligently as you drive, slow down and brake. During the braking phase, the kinetic energy released by braking is stored to recharge the battery. The electric motor is used for starting and for low speeds (under 18 mph); for high acceleration, the internal combustion engine is used to reach the desired speed.

To find out more about our hybrids, discover DS 3 HYBRID and DS 4 HYBRID.

What is the difference between a hybrid car and a plug-in hybrid car?
A plug-in hybrid is a car that can be recharged by plugging it into a household socket or a public charging point, whereas a hybrid is recharged only during regenerative braking.
Do hybrid vehicles drive differently from traditional automatic vehicles?
DS hybrid vehicles are driven like conventional automatic vehicles. The hybrid system automatically selects the optimum energy source, saving you the hassle of recharging the vehicle. All you have to do is fill up the tank.
What is the difference between an electric car and a plug-in hybrid?
An electric car has only a motor powered by electrical energy, while a plug-in hybrid vehicle combines both an electric motor and a combustion engine. Not sure whether to go for a plug-in hybrid or an electric car? Compare the advantages of plug-in hybrids and 100% electric vehicles now!

What does PHEV mean?

PHEV stands for "Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle" and is the acronym used to designate all plug-in hybrid vehicles. Switch to plug-in hybrid with the DS range of hybrid cars.

Can an electric vehicle battery be replaced?

For any purchase of an electric, hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicle, we advise you to subscribe to DS Service: everything is included to guarantee you worry-free use and resale at the best price: 

 

- Traction battery capacity certificate

- Replacement or repair of faulty parts (e.g. battery); 

- Replacement of wearing parts (e.g.: brake pads, windshield wiper blades, etc.); 

- Periodic maintenance; 

- DS Assistance (including in the event of a power outage). 

 

Please note: our traction batteries are guaranteed for 8 years or 100 000 miles.

What are the different charging options?

You can charge your electric vehicle or hybrid car at a public charging point or a private charging point, also known as a home charging point. Discover all the charging options for your DS now!

How are batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles recycled?

More than 70% of the Li-Ion batteries of DS Automobiles vehicles are recycled (recycling rate higher than the regulatory 50%) and another part of these batteries are reused in stationary energy storage systems for individual houses, collective buildings and electrical networks. For more information on the recycling of DS electric vehicle batteries. 

What are the tax benefits for hybrid cars or electric vehicles for professional use?

Professionals benefit from an exemption from CO2 emissions tax (ex TVS)(i), ecological malus and weight malus(i), an additional depreciation of up to 60% of the purchase price for an electric commercial vehicle(i), no tax write-back(i) and reduced registration fees(i), a 70% allowance for benefits in kind(i) and 100% recoverableVAT on electricity consumption(i).  Find out more about the advantages of electric vehicles for professionals

What are the contractual guarantees for a DS electric vehicle?

DS electric vehicles benefit from an 8-year warranty or 100,000 mi for the traction battery. Find out more about our commitments on the DS electric car warranty.

When should you recharge your electric car?

It is advisable to recharge your electric vehicle during off-peak hours if you have a home charging point in order to benefit from lower electricity rates. Generally speaking, and depending on the use of the vehicle, we recommend recharging your electric car battery when the battery level approaches 20% in order to preserve its long-term performance.

What are the different charging cables?

There are 4 types of cable for charging your electric car or plug-in hybrid: 

 

- Mode 3 three-phase and Mode 3 single-phase cables allow you to charge your vehicle via a DS eProWallBox or a public charging station

 

- The Mode 2 cable allows you to charge your car via a domestic socket

 

- The reinforced Mode 2 cable allows you to connect to a reinforced domestic socket.

How long does it take to charge a DS electric car?

28 minutes of recharging time are needed to recover from 20% to 80% range on N°8 via a 175 KW recharging station.

 

The recharging time of your electric vehicle depends on several factors: 

- The battery capacity: batteries with a high kWh capacity require a long charging time

- The charging station: the higher the power of the station, the faster the charging time

- The charging cable: the kWh capacity of the cable used must be similar to that of the charging point.

What is the range of a DS electric car?

Electric cars offer a range of up to 466mi (WLTP combined cycle) for N°8 and 251 mi (WLTP cycle) for DS 3 E-TENSE. To make the most of 100% electric driving, find out about the factors that can affect range and our advice on how to optimise your vehicle's range.

How to optimise the range of my DS electric vehicle?

The range of your electric vehicle can be affected by speed, driving style and weather conditions. Here are our tips for optimising your range: 

- Adopt a smooth and fluid driving style

- Use Eco mode and regenerative braking

- Pre-heat or pre-air-condition your vehicle in hot or cold weather.

 What are the best practices for extending the life of an electric battery?

If you do not use your electric vehicle for a certain period of time, we still recommend charging the battery once a month to preserve its performance. Under normal circumstances, the lithium-ion battery of your DS electric vehicle can be recharged every day even if it is not completely discharged, without any risk of deteriorating its performance. 

Charging

Is it easy to charge an EV/PHEV?

Charging an EV/PHEV is easy, you can even schedule charges at the comfort of your home with the MyDS App. We recommend customers should have a home charging point, so charging is faster and more convenient. Owners can get money towards a home charging grant through the EVHS scheme

 

Outside of the home, there are over 40,000 charging points across the UK with more being added regularly. At public charge points you will have the choice of two types of charging: AC and DC. You will often find AC points at train stations, or where you’re likely to be parked for a long time. DC, otherwise known as rapid charging, is normally found in service stations or near busy roads. These charge points are much faster than AC, and are meant to be used for long journeys, or a weekly charge if you don’t have a home charger.

How long does it take to charge an electric car?

The length of time taken to charge an electric car will depend on the size of the battery and the electric connection you use; this can range from just 30 minutes or more than 12 hours. 

 

The DS 3 E-TENSE can be charged to 80% in just 30 minutes with a 100kW rapid charger (DC). Owners using a home charging point (wallbox) can complete at full charge in 7 hours and 30 minutes (7kW Accelerated charging), which is perfect for overnight charging. Whereas the DS 7 PHEV can be fully charged in 2 hours with a home 7kW charger.

What will owning an electric car do to my electricity bill?

Your electric bill will likely rise if you charge your vehicle at home regularly, but you don’t have to pay for petrol or diesel ever again, so you’ll still save overall. Many EV owners take advantage of off-peak charging rates by charging their car overnight. It’s worth shopping around for different energy deals which will take into account your higher usage. You may also want to look for energy tariffs that have a longer off-peak period to ensure you can fully charge your vehicle at a reduced price. 

 

It’s easy to make use of your energy tariffs off-peak period with the MyDS app, just simply programme charges through your phone to start at the cheaper rate. 

 

Additionally, you can also take advantage of the many free charging points across the country, often found at work, shops or some businesses.

What happens if I run out of charge?

If you are driving a PHEV, the car will simply switch to petrol power once the battery runs out. In an 100% electric car, the experience will be very similar to when you run out of fuel in an internal combustion engine car. You will get plenty of warning beforehand, much like a petrol or diesel car. 

 

As soon as your battery gets low, DS electric vehicles will locate your nearest charging points with the DS Connect feature. If you do happen to run out of power, DS Connect can call DS’s mobility service who will take you to the nearest charge point, to help get you back on the road. 

Is DS looking at hydrogen as an alternative power source?

DS Automobiles will continue to work with experts from across the world to ensure we are at the forefront of using fuels that are as efficient and sustainable as possible. 

 

Currently, there are practicalities around production, storage and distribution of hydrogen. Which means at the moment electric vehicles are a far better option, plus they are much cheaper to buy and run. 

 

Therefore, DS Automobiles believes hydrogen will have a place in the future for fuelling transport, so will continue to test and develop hydrogen vehicles. But, at the current moment, DS Automobiles believes electric battery technology is more appealing for smaller vehicles.

What about synthetic fuels?

Some industry experts have proposed synthetic fuels as a way of reducing carbon. Like hydrogen, these are produced using electricity to manufacture a fuel which can then be burned in a conventional internal combustion engine. Meaning they can be used in existing conventional vehicles with no changes needed to infrastructure. 

 

Like hydrogen, generating these fuels takes a lot of energy but can be a good way of using renewable energy which is usually difficult to distribute or store, such as solar power in remote desert areas. This could be an excellent way of reducing reliance on fossil fuels for heavy vehicles such as trucks, buses and even ships. 

 

However, in the UK and Europe, we have an advanced and developing electric charging infrastructure, hence why DS Automobiles believes in continuing to develop affordable EV and PHEV to make the biggest impact on reducing the carbon footprint.

Towing

Can I tow with an electric vehicle or PHEV?

In most vehicles, towing will impact the efficiency of the car, even with petrol and diesel vehicles. At the moment, our EVs cannot tow, however this capability is being developed as EVs become more efficient.

Which vehicles in your range are electrified?

DS is full committed to electrification and every vehicle we launch from 2019 onwards will have a choice of drivetrain: internal combustion engine, and either a full electric or plug in hybrid.  From 2025, we’ll take this to the next level and step away from conventional combustion engines, launching only electrified vehicles.

 

Currently available are:

DS 3 E-TENSE: a battery electric vehicle

DS 4 E-TENSE: a plug-in hybrid

DS 7 E-TENSE: a plug in hybrid

DS 9 E-TENSE: a plug in hybrid

What do you do for the environment?

We are fully committed to reducing the environmental impact of our business. This is not restricted to only reducing the CO₂ and NOX output of the vehicles we sell – but stretches to the full life cycle of those vehicles and components, and our wider business operations, including our offices and production plants. Our parent company Stellantis Group has a very wide ranging scope of activity in this space: from carbon sink projects, to the circular economy of vehicle parts, to using connected car technology to launch innovative electric car sharing schemes (for example Leasys).

 

Full detail can be found in our comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility policy on our group website: https://www.groupe-psa.com/en/automotive-group/responsibility/

What if electric isn’t right for me?

Our strategy is to offer customer choice: it’s all about what is the right vehicle solution depending on an individual drivers needs and usage cycle. So we offer a choice of petrol, diesel and electrified option on the same car. This means that you don’t have to compromise on the size or style of vehicle you want in order to be more environmentally focused, and can select the drivetrain which works best for you.

While we are committed to bringing electric vehicles to the mainstream, we continue to invest in research and development of all different types of fuel sources, so we can be sure to always have the best solutions available to meet our customer’s needs.

What is the cost of charging an electric vehicle?

This is fully dependent on where you charge and the cost of your electricity.  Some public chargepoints are completely free, others have variable charges.  Most customer’s install a chargepoint at their home.

Electricity is priced by kWh (kilowatt hour) - so for a full battery charge you multiply the price per kWh by the capacity of the battery (in the same way today you would multiply the price per gallon, by the fuel tank capacity.

 

Average UK electricity cost (according to google) is 18.9p per kWh
Our new electric vehicles have a 50kW battery
So a full charge would cost 18.9p x 50 = £9.45. 
If you then drive the WLTP range of up to 250 miles, this equates to 3.78p per mile.

 

Many energy companies are now offering ‘electric vehicle tariffs’ where charging at certain times is cheaper.  We make this easy for you to manage – from either the vehicle or your MYDS app, you can programme the vehicle to start charging at a time convenient to you.  So plug in when you get home, but tell the car to not start drawing power until your off-peak rate kicks in!

How can I get a chargepoint?

Our charging partner is Pod Point, so they can assist with installing a chargepoint at your home. They are fully approved under the government Homecharge scheme, so if you have off street parking, you can usually benefit from grant funding of £350 towards the cost of this. 

For more details, visit: https://pod-point.com/products/homecharge

What if I don’t have a driveway or garage? How can I charge my vehicle?

If you do not have off street parking at your property then you cannot currently benefit from the governments Homecharge grant scheme, but there are still ways to charge your vehicle.

 

Workplace: the government also offers grants to workplaces installing charging points, so see if your company is interested in this.  Our charging partner is Pod Point, so they can assist with your workplace needs, and can advise on the government workplace grant funding.  Find more information here: https://pod-point.com/solutions/business/workplace-charging

 

Public: there is a vast network of publically available chargepoints across the country – and many of them are completely free to use.  You can see details of all chargepoints available, and find out what’s in your area here: www.zap-map.com

 

On Street Residential: central government has funding available to local councils for them to provide charging points for residents who have to park on the street.  Some London boroughs have introduced lamppost charging already, and many other councils are working on solutions.  Ask your council what’s going on in your local area.

What if something goes wrong? Aren’t batteries expensive to replace?

We understand that customer are worried about the costs of batteries – so that’s why we provide an exceptionally long traction battery warranty! For the first 8 years or 100,000 miles your battery will be covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, subject to our standard Ts&Cs, such as having your vehicle serviced at the right time. The warranty stays with the vehicle – so is fully transferable to a new owner, therefore also helping with the resale value and confidence a second owner can have in the vehicle.

 

The costs of batteries has also decreased very significantly over the past 8 years, and will continue to do so. This is partly due to reducing costs of raw materials as electric vehicle become more popular and volume increases, but also because ‘second life’ uses of batteries mean they don’t just need to be recycled (at cost to the manufacturer) but can be repurposed for uses such energy storage.

I heard about battery rental. Can I rent a battery?
No – DS do not offer battery rental. The battery is included in the price of the vehicle, but you can have the full confidence of an 8 year, 100,000 miles warranty.
What plugs do you use?

For full information, see our Charging page…

But in summary:

Our new generation electric vehicles are equipped with CCS (Combined Charging System) sockets, so they can be charged from a standard Type 2 chargepoint, a domestic plug socket, or a public rapid charger. 

Our plug-in hybrids have Type 2 sockets – as they don’t need to be rapid charged.

Why are there different plugs on different cars?

Different continents have different charging standards, and many of the first EVs brought into the UK came from Asia and adopted the Japanese standards, known as Type 1 and CHAdeMO. There are gradually being phased out in Europe, as most manufacturers selling cars here now adopt the European standard sockets called Type 2 and CCS. 

As domestic plugs differ between countries, the domestic charging cables sold as accessories are different depending on the country.

Legal notices: the range and electricity consumption values ​​indicated comply with the WLTP test procedure on the basis of which new vehicles have been approved since September 1, 2018. They may vary depending on actual operating conditions. use and various factors such as: speed, thermal comfort on board the vehicle, driving style and outside temperature. Charging time depends in particular on the power of the on-board charger in the vehicle, the charging cable, as well as the type and power of the charging station used. Be sure to contact your point of sale for more information. More information here. Hybrid: the fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions and range values ​​indicated comply with the WLTP test procedure on the basis of which new vehicles have been approved since September 1, 2018. This WLTP procedure replaces the cycle European Driving School (NEDC), which was the test procedure used previously. As the test conditions are more realistic, fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions measured according to the WLTP procedure are, in many cases, higher than those measured according to the NEDC procedure. The values ​​of fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions and range may vary depending on actual conditions of use and various factors such as: frequency of recharging, driving style, speed, specific equipment, options, types of tires, exterior temperature and thermal comfort on board the vehicle. Be sure to contact your point of sale for more information. More information here.