So what Really is an Electric Car?
Electric cars seem to be making the headlines every week. There is news of well known combustion engine car makers displaying their newest electric concept cars using the latest technologies and governments declaring more incentives to consumers and car makers, but there are hardly any electric cars actually being found on the roads unless you reside in London central, Bangalore or Paris. These cities are considered the world’s “electric car capitals.” But outside of these urban centers, there are really very few electric cars that are being seen in daily use.
Electric cars have been around for quite some time. The first ones were already available 175 years ago. In fact, they were the best-selling cars at the start of the 20th Century.
Today, big car manufacturers such as Ford, Fiat, Toyota, Citroen, General Motors and Peugeot have had a hand in building electric cars. In the last decade, these manufacturers attempted to make and sell small quantities of electric cars, many of which still ply the road or are found in the recon car market.
Electric cars have always been considered a niche product, but that may soon change with the wider publicity and changes being made to the policies regarding them. Currently, most car manufacturers are actively undertaking the development of electric car projects with a forecast display by 2015. However, there are many electric cars that are currently available from specialty car manufacturers like GEM, Tesla, REVA and Aixam, all well established car manufacturers that have made great breakthroughs in the car market. Mitsubishi also just launched its own new electric car.
What is an electric car?
An electric car is a vehicle powered by an electric motor, which uses energy from a battery that is stored within the car. The electric car’s built-in batteries store the electrical energy for powering the wheels; the battery is charged via an electric socket.
The charging time for an electric car is dependent on the power socket available. A domestic socket normally takes 5-10 hours, whereas “fast charging” takes about an hour if there is a dedicated high voltage of high current.
These batteries used for powering electric cars can be quite heavy and bulky, consuming more space than the conventional car engine and gearbox found in a standard car.
Electric cars depend entirely on the batteries; they do not have a backup combustion engine. An electric car also does not come with a conventional gearbox. The car is powered directly by the electric motor, or via a simple differential. Thus, there are not many moving parts in an electric car as opposed to a combustion engine car. There are only 15-20 moving parts in an electric car, whereas a combustion engine-powered car has a few hundred pieces.