Battery electric vehicle

The Toyota RAV4 EV was powered by
twenty-four 12 volt batteries,with an
operational cost equivalent of over
165 miles per gallon at 2005 US
gasoline prices.





Camille Jenatzy in electric car La Jamais
Contente,1899

A battery electric vehicle (BEV) is an electric vehicle that utilizes chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. Electric vehicles use electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs). Vehicles using both electric motors and ICEs are examples of hybrid vehicles, and are not considered pure BEVs because they operate in a charge-sustaining mode. Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be charged externally to displace some or all of their ICE power and gasoline fuel are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and are pure BEVs during their charge-depleting mode. BEVs are usually automobiles, light trucks, neighborhood electric vehicles, motorcycles, motorized bicycles, electric scooters, golf carts, forklifts and similar vehicles, because batteries are less appropriate for larger long-range applications.
BEVs were among the earliest automobiles, and are more energy-efficient than internal combustion, fuel cell, and most other types of vehicles. BEVs produce no exhaust fumes, and minimal pollution if charged from most forms of renewable energy. Many are capable of acceleration exceeding that of conventional vehicles, are quiet, and do not produce noxious fumes. BEVs reduce dependence on petroleum, thus enhancing national security, and mitigate global warming by alleviating the greenhouse effect.
Historically, BEVs and PHEVs have had issues with high battery costs, limited travel distance between battery recharging, charging time, and battery lifespan, which have limited widespread adoption. Ongoing battery technology advancements have addressed many of these problems; many models have recently been prototyped, and a handful of future production models have been announced. Toyota, Honda, Ford and General Motors all produced BEVs in the 90s in order to comply with the California Air Resources Board's Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, which was later defeated by the manufacturers and the federal government. The major US automobile manufacturers have been accused of deliberately sabotaging their electric vehicle production efforts.