An electric car is an alternative fuel car that uses electric motors and motor controllers instead of an internal combustion engine (ICE). Currently, in most cases, electrical power is derived from battery packs carried on board the vehicle. Other energy storage methods that may come into use in the future include the use of ultracapacitors, or storage of energy in a spinning flywheel.^[1]

The term electric vehicle is often used, implying, in context, an electric road vehicle, though in its broader sense it covers all vehicles with electrical propulsion including trains and trams.

Vehicles that make use of both electric motors and other types of engine are known as hybrid electric vehicles and are not considered pure electric vehicles (EVs) because they operate in a charge-sustaining mode. Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be charged externally from an external source are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and become pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) during their charge-depleting mode. Other types of electric vehicles besides cars include light trucks and neighborhood electric vehicles.

THE IST SUCH CAR The General Motors EV1, a hallmark electric car, had a range of 160 mi (260 km) with NiMH batteries in 1999.AND THE LATEST IS THE Toyota’s single-seat electric car resembles a soft cuddly armchair on three wheels and comes with a virtual “friend” programmed inside that learns the driver’s tastes and personality.

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. says its “i-swing,” which can be seen zipping around on a stage at the Tokyo Motor Show, is a car that’s designed to be more than a cold machine, and for use on sidewalks as well as roads.

It can travel on three or two wheels, and its body is made of polyurethane and covered in fabric — to soften the impact if it bumps into people, Toyota says.