It's 14V and 42V OR 12V and 36V. The former is with the motor running, the latter is the nominal battery voltage. You can't charge a battery unless you have a higher voltage than the battery itself.
Big Jim is correct about the motor/generator, this is one of the improvements. Another advantage is that you can use electrical power steering on all types of cars. With the 14V system it only works well on small cars. You can make other things like AC electrical too.
