Electric car

An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is an automobile that uses electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a plug-in electric vehicle, typically a battery electric vehicle (BEV), which only uses energy stored in on-board battery packs, but broadly may also include plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), which can convert electric power from other fuels via a generator or a fuel cell.

Compared to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quieter, more responsive, have superior energy conversion efficiency and no exhaust emissions, as well as a typically lower overall carbon footprint from manufacturing to end of life (even when a fossil-fuel power plant supplying the electricity might add to its emissions). Due to the superior efficiency of electric motors, electric cars also generate less waste heat, thus reducing the need for engine cooling systems that are often large, complicated and maintenance-prone in ICE vehicles.

The electric vehicle battery typically needs to be plugged into a mains electricitypower supply for recharging, after depleting the battery when driving. Recharging an electric car can be done at different kinds of charging stations; these charging stations can be installed in private homes, parking garages and public areas. There is also research and development in, as well as deployment of, other technologies such as battery swapping and inductive charging. As the recharging centers (especially fast chargers) are wide spread in some areas, range anxiety and charging time cost are psychological obstacles to some consumers considering the purchase of an electric car.

Worldwide, 21 million plug-in electric cars were sold in 2025, over a quarter of new car sales and up 20% from 2024. Many countries have established government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles, tax credits, subsidies, and other non-monetary incentives while several countries have legislated to phase-out sales of fossil fuel cars, to reduce air pollution and limit climate change.

China currently has the largest stock of electric vehicles in the world, with cumulative sales of 22.09 million units through December 2024, although these figures also include heavy-duty commercial vehicles such as buses, garbage trucks and sanitation vehicles, and only accounts for vehicles manufactured in China. In the United States and the European Union, as of 2020, the total cost of ownership of recent electric vehicles is cheaper than that of equivalent ICE cars, due to lower power and maintenance costs.

In 2023, the Tesla Model Y became the world's best selling car. The Tesla Model 3 became the world's all-time best-selling electric car in early 2020, and in June 2021 it became the first electric car to pass 1 million global sales.