The purpose of this paper is to review the recent literature regarding the effects of low temperatures on Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries for electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and hybrid electric vehicle applications. Special consideration is given to nine major effects that directly or indirectly impact the battery use at low temperatures and it is presented that they are correlated to each other. The main discussions in this paper are capacity loss, power loss, life degradation, safety hazard, unbalanced capacity, charging difficulty, thermal management system complexity, battery model and state estimation method complexity, and incremental cost. The effects correlations and possible solutions are explained to provide a detailed, yet broader understanding of the Li-ion batteries low-temperature operating scenarios.