REVIEW OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE
An electric vehicle is driven using a bat‐
tery and an electric motor. While gen‐
eral vehicles use an internal combustion
engine and gasoline as fuel, electric ve‐
hicles use electrical energy that is
charged inside the high voltage battery.
As a result, electric vehicles are eco-
friendly in that they do not require fuel
and do not emit exhaust gases.
Characteristics of electric
vehicles
1. It is driven using the electrical ener‐
gy that is charged inside the high
voltage battery. This method pre‐
vents air pollution since fuel, like
gasoline, is not required, negating
the emission of exhaust gases.
2. A high performance motor is used
in the vehicle as well. Compared to
standard, internal combustion en‐
gine vehicles, engine noise and vi‐
brations are much more minimal
when driving.
3. When decelerating or driving down‐
hill, regenerative braking is utilized
to charge the high voltage battery.
This minimizes energy loss and in‐
creases the distance to empty.
4. When the battery charge is not
sufficient, AC Charge, DC Charge
and trickle charge are available.
(Refer to “Charge Types for Electric
Vehicle” on page 1-14 for details.)
NOTICE
What does regenerative braking do?
It uses an electric motor when de‐
celerating and braking and trans‐
forms kinetic energy to electrical en‐
ergy in order to charge the high
voltage battery.
Battery information
• The vehicle is composed of a high
voltage battery that drives the motor
and air-conditioner, and an auxiliary
battery (12 V) that drives the lamps,
wipers, and audio system.
• The auxiliary battery is automatically
charged when the vehicle is in the
ready ( ) mode or the high voltage
battery is being charged.
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Electric vehicle guide
