Electric car

An electric car is an alternative fuel car that uses electric motors and motor controllers in place of an internal combustion engine (ICE). Electric cars are a variety of electric vehicle (EV); the term "electric vehicle" includes any vehicle that uses electricity for propulsion, while "electric car" encompasses all road-going automobiles. Most modern electric cars derive their electrical power from on-board battery packs, and as such are battery electric vehicles (BEVs), in contrast to vehicles such as electric trains, which may draw their power from overhead lines. Other on-board energy storage methods that are expected to come into use in the future include the use of ultracapacitors, or storage of energy as potential energy in a spinning flywheel.[1]
Electric cars enjoyed a period of popularity during the mid-19th century, when electricity was among the preferred methods for automobile propulsion. Popularity waned in the early 20th century, largely due to the low range of electric cars, an effect of the inferior battery technology of the time. The quick refueling times and growing petroleum infrastructure enjoyed by users of gasoline vehicles, which facilitated long-range travel, made the low-range, largely city-only functionality of the electric car a fatal disadvantage. The mass production of gasoline vehicles by companies such Ford reduced their prices to nearly 50% of that of equivalent electric cars, resulting in their disappearing from important markets such as the United States by the 1930s.
In recent years, increased concerns over the environmental impact of gasoline cars, along with reduced consumer ability to pay for fuel for gasoline cars, has brought about renewed interest in electric cars, which are perceived to be more environmentally friendly and cheaper to maintain and run, despite high initial costs. Electric cars currently enjoy relative popularity in countries around the world, though they are notably absent from the roads of the United States, where electric cars briefly re-appeared in the late 90s as a response to changing government regulations. As of 2009, the world's most popular electric car is the REVAi, which is produced by an Indian company and sold in a number of countries in Europe and Asia