EV

How it works

Technology behind

While the specifics of how an electric vehicle operates depends on what type of EV it is (i.e., whether it’s a hybrid, battery-electric, or fuel cell electric - more on this shortly) they all broadly work in the same manner. All EVs are powered by an electric motor. This gets its power from a stack of batteries, and in most cases electric cars must be plugged in to recharge these batteries. In earlier iterations of the EV, these batteries were of the lead-acid variety but nowadays, most electric cars will use lithium-ion batteries as they’re far superior and can store a lot more energy.

Battery electric vehicles are powered by electricity stored in a battery pack.
Plug-in hybrids combine a gasoline or diesel engine with an electric motor and large rechargeable battery.
Fuel cell vehicles split electrons from hydrogen molecules to produce electricity to run the motor.

The electric motor draws power from the battery to drive the car’s wheels and enable propulsion. Two motors can be used - one on each of the car’s two axles - to provide four-wheel drive. Today, all electric motors are fundamentally AC. They spin when the rotor chasing an alternating magnetic field is induced by an alternating electrical current. Older electric motors were ‘DC brushed’ which used mechanical brushes to create an alternating current. These had a high failure rate making them unsuitable for commercial electric cars.

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

Battery electric vehicles - often referred to as ‘fully-electric’ or ‘all-electric’ vehicles - are vehicles fitted with a rechargeable battery as the sole power source. These vehicles have no gasoline engine at all. BEVs store electricity onboard with high-capacity (usually lithium-ion) battery packs. Their battery power is then used to run the electric motor and onboard electronics. Due to the absence of an ICE, BEVs do not emit any harmful emissions at all. BEVs are charged by electricity from an external power source, with their chargers classified according to the speed at which they recharge a battery (see the below section on EV charging for more information). Examples of BEVs include the Tesla Model 3, BMW i3, Volkswagen e-Golf, and the Hyundai Ioniq.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)

The plug-in-hybrid electric vehicle combines a battery and electric motor with an economical petrol or diesel engine. As can be deduced from the name, PHEVs can be recharged by plugging into an external electricity source. In addition, PHEVs can also be powered by their onboard engines and generators, and they’re able to substitute electricity from the grid for gasoline. In a PHEV, the onboard battery will usually be much smaller and have a lower capacity than those found in all-electric cars. This means that PHEVs can’t drive very far on electricity alone, requiring the combustion engine to eventually kick in. Examples of PHEVs include the BMW i8, Toyota Prius, Ford C-Max Energi, and the Mini Cooper SE Countryman.

An electric vehicle can be charged by either plugging it into a socket or a charging unit. Charging units are being found in more and more public places as the popularity of EVs grows, and you’re usually never too far from your nearest one. Common locations for charging points include car parks and fuel stations.

The sales of BEVs and PHEVs exceeded the two-million mark for the first time in 2019. The latest electric vehicle market predictions are strong, too. Deloitte’s global EV forecast is a compound annual growth rate of 29 percent achieved over the next 10 years into 2030, with total EV sales growing from 2.5 million in 2020 to 11.2 million in 2025, then reaching 31.1 million by 2030. By this time, EVs are expected to make up roughly 32 percent of the total market share for new car sales as per the above graph. What’s more, the market hasn’t been impacted by COVID-19 insofar as others have; the pace of recovery for the EV market will be high, with EVs having a positive trajectory during the COVID-19 recovery period.