Car evs are designed to run entirely on electricity instead of fuel, which eliminates tailpipe emissions and reduces the need for gas stations. They’re also typically quieter than conventional cars, and many offer one-pedal driving for ease of use.

EVs can be powered by either an internal combustion engine or a battery. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) use an electric motor to power the wheels in addition to a gasoline engine, and they use regenerative braking to create energy that recharges the battery. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) can be charged from a power outlet like an ordinary home appliance, but they have a backup gasoline engine to drive the wheels when the batteries are depleted. Some PHEVs can travel more than 40 miles on electric power alone, making them much more efficient than traditional HEVs.

Car EVs: Exploring the World of Electric Vehicles

Pure EVs, or BEVs, don’t have a combustible engine, and they typically have extra storage space in the front of the vehicle that can be used for luggage. They can be charged using Level 1 chargers that plug into standard 120V AC outlets, which can add about 2 to 5 miles of range per hour of charging. Higher-powered DC fast chargers can charge a BEV from 20 percent to 80 percent in about a half-hour on average, although these are usually restricted to Tesla owners.

Electric cars require far less energy to operate than gasoline-powered cars, but they do need to get the electricity that powers them from a power plant. Some states, such as South Dakota and Idaho, produce a large percentage of their electricity from renewable sources, while others, such as Michigan and Illinois, use fossil fuels like coal. As a result, a BEV powered by clean electricity uses about 75% less energy than a comparable gasoline car in those states.