Intro About Electric Vehicle
An electric car is an alternative fuel automobile that
uses electric motors and motor controllers for propulsion, in place
of more common propulsion methods such as the internal combustion
engine (ICE). Electric cars are specifically a variety of electric
vehicle created or adapted for use on the road. Electric cars are
commonly powered by on-board battery packs, and as such are battery
electric vehicles (BEVs). Other on-board energy storage methods
that are expected to come into use in the future include
ultracapacitors, fuel cells, and a spinning flywheel which stores
kinetic energy.
Electric cars enjoyed popularity between the mid-19th century and
early 20th century, when electricity was among the preferred
methods for automobile propulsion, providing a level of comfort and
ease of operation that could not be achieved by the gasoline cars
of the time. Advances in ICE technology soon rendered this
advantage moot; the greater range of gasoline cars, quicker
refueling times, and growing petroleum infrastructure, along with
the mass production of gasoline vehicles by companies such as the
Ford Motor Company, which reduced prices of gasoline cars to less
than half that of equivalent electric cars, led to a decline in the
use of electric propulsion, effectively removing it from important
markets such as the United States by the 1930s.
In recent years, increased concerns over the environmental impact
of gasoline cars, along with reduced consumer ability to pay for
fuel for gasoline cars, has brought about renewed interest in
electric cars, which are perceived to be more environmentally
friendly and cheaper to maintain and run, despite high initial
costs. Electric cars currently enjoy relative popularity in
countries around the world, though they are notably absent from the
roads of the United States, where electric cars briefly re-appeared
in the late 90s as a response to changing government regulations.
The hybrid electric car has become the most common form of electric
car, combining a internal combustion engine powertrain with
supplementary electric motors to run the car at idle and low
speeds, making use of techniques such as regenerative braking to
improve its efficiency over comparable gasoline cars, while not
being hampered by the limited range inherent to current battery
electric cars. Hybrid cars are now sold by most major
manufacturers, with notable models including the Toyota Prius and
the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid which uses a fully
electric drivetrain supplemented by a gasoline-powered electric
generator to extend its range. As of 2009, the world's most popular
battery electric car is the REVAi, also known as the G-Wiz,
manufactured in Bangalore, India and sold in 24 countries including
India and others in Europe, Asia, and Central America.[1] In late
2009 REVA Electric Car Company, the maker of the REVAi, completed a
new ultra-low carbon vehicle assembly plant in Bangalore, the
world’s largest dedicated to building EVs with a capacity of 30,000
cars annually.
