Electric  Vehicles

The electric vehicle, often known by the acronym EV, is a vehicle that runs only on electricity. Although some hybrid cars use electricity in combination with other sources of power, such as regular gasoline, the EV uses electricity only.

There have been various EVs produced since the 19th Century, but until recently there were no commercially viable EVs that were available for everyday private use.

The EV engine is commonly powered by a battery that can be recharged when not in use.

Probably the biggest selling EV is what we know as the golf cart type vehicle. But the golf cart type car can only be used in certain limited locations that permit them, and they aren’t appropriate for common use such as for driving to and from work.

Recently the first “real” electric vehicles commercially available are the cars from Tesla Motors which are extremely expensive, and out of the price range of the majority of people. They are very cool, however. We are seeing them more and more on the roads around Los Angeles (the trend setting city for cars).

The only Tesla model on the road right now is the Tesla Roadster. It's a very high performance sports car. It gets about 244 miles per charge, goes a very fast 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, 125 mph top end speed, and costs $109K+. Tesla plans to have the fine looking Model S sedan available in 2011, with a $50K+ price tag.

Why BMW owner switched to Telsa   Video: Tesla Roadster   Video: Tesla Model S Sedan  

Now, a major player has entered the scene. Nissan has announced its new all-electric vehicle, known as the "Leaf". Nissan plans to make it available in showrooms near the end of 2010.

Nissan’s research says that 70% of all drivers drive 62 miles or less per day, and it designed the Leaf to travel 100 miles on a full charge of its batteries.

The car is a 4-door hatchback design. It will probably be priced in the $25,000-30,000 range. The cost to run it, per Nissan, will be about $13 per month (wow!). The production models will have about 107 horsepower and reach speeds up to about 85 mph. Sounds like Nissan has a good handle on a workable strategy.

To recharge the Leaf’s batteries at home will require a special charger which will cost about $1,500. Nissan says they are partnering with several cities and companies to provide quick charge stations. We’ll see how that progresses.   Video: Nissan Leaf

Ford Motors also says it will produce an all-electric Ford Focus by 2011.

It’s all about infrastructure

The major problem with the EV, as with many alternative vehicles, is the infrastructure.

The key to any alternative vehicle gaining widespread use, or at least significant use, is the infrastructure available to refuel and service the vehicles. Some form of practical infrastructure has to be developed for each form of alternative vehicle to be viable.

The servicing aspect is relatively easy because small local entrepreneurs will organically and suddenly appear if there is a need. If you’re old enough to remember when “foreign cars” were new to the American scene, many people were warned not to buy foreign cars because American mechanics didn’t know how to service them. Well, look at America now, no lack of mechanics for “foreign cars”.

The much bigger problem is the refueling, or in this case, the recharging infrastructure. If you live close enough to where you drive every day, and the round trip you drive daily can be handled by charging your batteries at home at night, you’re all set. But for everyone else, it’s a problem that needs to be overcome. There are several people working on a solution to this problem, but we won’t get into these diverse solutions here. (See News for more on these solutions.)

Keep your eye on the electric vehicle sector, it has real promise to help us break free of dependence on foreign petroleum.

Hybrid to Electric Evolution - Plug-in Hybrid

Hydrogen powered electric vehicles