Electric and hybrid vehicles: Equipment and suppliers

Cells, inverters and magnets: what is under the floor

What this tab covers For each method, the main pieces of equipment, who makes them (by region) and what they are made of (bill of materials).

An electric car is built around a battery pack, power electronics (inverter and charger) and a motor; a fuel-cell car adds a stack and hydrogen tanks. Battery cells are the only component with a reliable published global ranking.

Battery electric and plug-in vehicles

Lithium-ion battery cells and pack⁵⁶

Store energy chemically and release it as direct current.

China CATL, BYD, CALB, Gotion High-tech, Eve Energy, Svolt Japan and Korea LG Energy Solution, SK On, Samsung SDI, Panasonic

Bill of materials

Cathode: lithium iron phosphate (LFP, pack USD 81/kWh) or nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC, pack USD 128/kWh) price gap between chemistries shown by pack price (2025)
Anode: graphite on copper foil
Electrolyte and separator: lithium salt in organic solvent; porous polymer film
Pack housing, cooling and battery management electronics: aluminium or steel case, liquid cooling plates, sensors

Traction inverter and motor¹

Turn battery DC into three-phase AC and then into torque; reverse the flow when braking.

Not ranked in checked sources

Bill of materials

Power switches: silicon IGBTs or silicon carbide MOSFETs
Motor stator: electrical steel laminations with copper windings
Rotor: rare-earth (neodymium) permanent magnets, or copper or aluminium bars in induction motors

On-board charger¹²

Converts grid AC to DC to charge the pack; its losses matter most when charging slowly.

Not ranked in checked sources

Bill of materials

Rectifier, DC-DC converter, magnetics: silicon or silicon carbide switches, copper and ferrite transformers

Full hybrid

High-efficiency petrol engine¹⁵⁸¹⁶

Runs on the Atkinson-style cycle at high compression (14:1) and works only near its sweet spot; 41% peak thermal efficiency.

Japan and Korea Toyota, Hyundai, Honda

Bill of materials

Block and head: aluminium alloy
Exhaust catalyst: platinum-group metals on a ceramic honeycomb

Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle

Fuel cell stack and system⁹¹⁰

Combines hydrogen and air to make electricity, water and heat.

Japan and Korea Toyota (with BMW, systems from 2028), Hyundai, Honda Europe Cellcentric

Bill of materials

Membrane electrode assemblies: proton-exchange polymer membrane with platinum catalyst
Bipolar plates: coated stainless steel or graphite

High-pressure hydrogen tanks¹⁰

Store hydrogen gas on board.

Not ranked in checked sources

Bill of materials

Tank shell: carbon-fibre wound over a polymer liner

E-bikes and e-scooters

Drive unit and battery¹⁴

Small hub or crank motor with a lithium-ion pack of a few hundred watt-hours.

Not ranked in checked sources

Bill of materials

Motor: permanent-magnet brushless motor, often with reduction gears
Battery: cylindrical lithium-ion cells

Sources

Where the Energy Goes: Electric Cars US DOE and US EPA (fueleconomy.gov), 2025
Lithium-ion battery pack prices fall to USD 108 per kilowatt-hour despite rising metal prices BloombergNEF, 2025
Global EV battery market share in 2025: full rankings (SNE Research data as reported) CnEVPost, 2026
Toyota global sales 2025 (Toyota's sales release as reported, with hybrid, PHEV, BEV and fuel-cell breakdown) Carscoops, 2026
Global H2 vehicle sales rise by nearly 25% (SNE Research data as reported) electrive, 2026
China, S Korea drove rebound in 2025 H2 vehicle sales (SNE Research and company data) Argus Media, 2026
ADAC untersucht Elektroauto-Ladeverluste (report of ADAC's 2026 AC charging-loss test of five cars) ecomento, 2026
Real-World Scooter Performance Study Cenex, 2019
TNGA powertrain: 2.5-litre Dynamic Force engine (40% and 41% maximum thermal efficiency) Toyota Motor Corporation, 2016
Three Chinese automakers enter global top 10 as 2025 sales rankings finalized CarNewsChina, 2026