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The 21st century – a world in transition. There is a need to think future-oriented and in times of climate change and global warming, car manufacturers must further develop electric cars in order not to miss out on opportunities in the car market. In electric vehicles, the battery capacity, the charging capabilities and the technological complexity reach from simple to sophisticated and imply different vehicle ranges, refueling options and prices. When purchasing an electric car, a wide variety of criteria, such as the different types of electric vehicles must therefore be taken into account. In the following, the most important types and representative car models will be presented.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are powered only by an electric motor, which means that there are no exhaust emissions. The electricity is stored in an on-board battery, which must be regularly charged by plugging the vehicle to a charging point. Nevertheless, the battery can also be charged via regenerative braking, which increases the efficiency of BEVs. Furthermore, about 80% of the energy stored in the battery is converted into motion. A conventional vehicle, in comparison, converts about four times less energy into motion. Depending on the price, BEVs are only suitable for shorter drives as they only have a limited driving range and long charging times.
Tesla is the current industry leader offering some of the most technologically advanced electric vehicles ever produced. Beginning with the Tesla Roadster, which was the first electric car of the modern era, Tesla continued to further develop their electric vehicles, producing the Tesla Model S and the Tesla Model X in the following years. For 2020, Tesla announced the release of the new Tesla Roadster, which is said to be the fastest street legal production car existing with an acceleration to 100km/h in less than 2 seconds and a speed of 400km/h.
The biggest disadvantage of most electric vehicles is currently a short driving range. As at present the battery charging infrastructure is not yet established throughout many countries, this can be a problem. Therefore, there are Range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) to compensate this disadvantage. REEVs have an internal combustion engine, which is only used as an electricity generator to power the electric motor or to recharge a low battery.
The battery can also be charged from the grid and the car can be fueled at ordinary filling stations. An example is the BMW i3, an electric vehicle which increases its range by approximately 160 kilometers with the use of a two-cylinder engine as a ranger extender.
Another category of cars with alternative drives is the hybrid vehicle. It includes Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
The HEV combines an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Therefore, the electric motor can be charged during regenerative braking or coasting and assists for example in vehicle acceleration. Contrary to full electric vehicles, the battery cannot be charged from the grid and so the driving range of the electric motor itself is limited. Still, the HEVs are an important alternative to fuel powered cars as they produce fewer emissions and are more efficient.
The Lexus GS Hybrid is an example for an excellent hybrid electric vehicle as it offers a smooth and powerful performance due to its self-charging capability.
A special form of the HEV is the PHEV. PHEVs have an electric motor and an internal combustion engine that can work together or separately. When the electric motor is not powerful enough to operate the vehicle or the battery needs to be charged, it is supported by the combustion engine. The on-board battery has a wider driving range than the batteries in HEVs and it can be charged from the grid. This makes the PHEV suitable for short trips in cities or commuting. In terms of environmental performance, the driver influences the amount of emissions, as PHEVs can be operated with the battery only or in combination with the combustion engine.
One of the most famous PHEVs available on the market is the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.
Another category of electric vehicles are Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
In FCEVs, fuel cells create emission-free on-board electricity combining hydrogen from an on-board tank with oxygen from the air. The FCEV is currently the most advanced electric vehicle, as it does not need electricity-charging stations. So far, its availability on the market is limited as it is still in development. One of the few examples is the Toyota Mirai.
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