41 Interesting Electric Car Facts

By James Israelsen, Associate Writer

Published June 11, 2020

Although interest in the environmental benefits of electric cars has increased in recent years, electric vehicles have actually been around longer than internal combustion engine cars._[11]
Hybrid vehicles are cars that use both electric power and internal combustion engines._[11]
Electric cars use electric motors instead of internal combustion engines and are powered by batteries, sometimes with the addition of hydrogen fuel cells._[11]
Hybrid cars have at least two, if not more, motors in each vehicle._[11]
A hybrid vehicle uses its internal combustion engine when large bursts of speed are required and will switch to its electric motor when proceeding at a steady pace or idling at a stop._[11]
Electric cars can be recharged at home as well as at parking lots that have charging stations, rather than requiring a trip to the gas station to fill up the tank._[11]
The torque, or ability to rotate an object around an axis, from an electric motor is superior to that of its internal-combustion counterpart._[11]
In the early development of vehicles, the electric motor was seen to have many advantages, including lack of smell, virtually no vibration, and no need to switch gears._[11]

The environmental benefits are clear

The main advantages of electric motors are that such vehicles do not harm the environment or create pollution that is hazardous to human health, and they operate with a high level of efficiency._[11]
Although electric cars had advantages over internal combustion vehicles, their appeal declined in the early 1900s due to limited battery-power technology as well as rapid advancements in internal combustion mechanics._[11]
The electric motor is actually a very simple piece of technology: it is a device that uses magnets to convert electric energy into motion._[11]
The technology behind electric cars is attributed to the work of physicist Michael Faraday, who discovered electromagnetic induction in 1831._[11]
Because fuel cells use expensive platinum metal in their construction, they are not currently a popular option for replacing combustion engines._[6]
The US Department of Energy is currently conducting research to reduce the cost and increase the performance and durability of fuel cell technology in order to find ways of replacing combustion engines with electric engines._[6]
One benefit of widespread use of electric cars that run on fuel cells is that a fuel cell can continue to produce electricity even when the car isn't running; therefore, the car’s engine could be used to power the home of its owner._[15]
In addition to cars, other forms of transportation using electricity for power include bikes, scooters, and forklifts._[15]

Many countries now feature charging stations as well as gas stations

Electric cars that use battery packs to charge the engine have one drawback: they can only be driven for distances of less than 185 miles, or around 2 hours, before needing another charge._[15]
It takes about 8 hours to fully charge the batteries of an electric car._[15]
The energy efficiency of both hybrid and combustion engine cars is only 25 to 40%, meaning that only around a quarter of the fuel used to run them is actually converted into energy; the rest of the fuel is converted into heat._[15]
The energy efficiency of a car that uses fuel cells is around 60%._[15]
In 2012, over a billion cars were in use worldwide; only 113,000 of these were battery-powered electric cars._[15][16]
The number of electric vehicles in use in the world increased from 113,000 in 2012 to 3,290,000 in 2018._[16]
The first mass-produced hybrid car successfully sold in America was the Toyota Prius, first made in 1997._[2]
As of 2018, Toyota made six out of the ten best-selling hybrid vehicles in America._[2]
Car manufacturer Tesla has developed cars that include “autopilot” software, allowing the cars to drive themselves semi-autonomously. This software has, however, been cited as a factor in several collisions, including one in which the driver, who was playing a video game on his phone, died as a result._[12]
The base price an American consumer can currently expect to pay for a new hybrid car is between $21,000 and $136,000._[2][9]
The first car Porsche ever made had an electric engine. The 1898 “Egger-Lohner electric vehicle, C.2 Phaeton model," or “P1,” which required over 1,000 lbs of batteries, could drive almost 50 miles on a charge and reached speeds of 22 mph._[8]

It doesn't look much like the Porsches we're used to (Arnauld 25)

The Porsche “P1,” the first Porsche and an early electric car, was recently re-discovered in a shed in Austria, where it had been abandoned over 100 years ago._[8]
Tesla, the first company to design an electric pickup truck, originally suffered a stock market loss of 6.1% after the truck’s armored glass windows cracked in an unveiling meant to demonstrate their indestructibility._[14]
The United States government offers a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of certain models and types of electric vehicles._[4]
Director Chris Paine has made two separate documentaries about the electric car’s history and future: Who Killed the Electric Car and Revenge of the Electric Car._[10]
The average hybrid car can only travel 30 to 40 miles before the battery runs out and the internal combustion engine kicks in; a fully-electric car can go for between 60 and 200 miles on a single charge._[3]
Some states, such as Texas, have laws that outlaw carmakers from directly selling their own cars; in such states, Tesla, who will only permit their cars to be sold in their own stores, has showrooms where customers can learn about the cars, but then they must go out of state to purchase one._[5]

Fuel cells run incredibly clean

If an electric car’s engine is powered by fuel cells that use hydrogen for fuel, the engine’s only outputs are electricity, water, and heat._[6]
The American company Tesla is unique in that it builds only electric vehicles, including trucks, roadsters, SUVs, and sedans._[13]
Both electric and hybrid cars can be plug-ins, meaning their battery-powered engines require charging before they can run. Although most owners install charging stations at home, the federal government also encourages public places, such as shopping centers and universities, to provide such stations in order to make electric cars more viable._[7]
Celebrities who drive electric cars include Leonardo DiCaprio, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Jaden Smith, Matt Damon, Pierce Brosnan, Justin Bieber, Dustin Hoffman, and both Prince Charles and Prince Harry._[1]
High-end car companies Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche, and Lexus all currently have plans to release electric vehicles during the early 2020s._[1]
Although the Tesla electric pickup truck has yet to be released, almost 150,000 purchase orders were made within just two days of its exhibition._[14]
Tesla’s upcoming 2021 electric pickup truck, called the Cybertruck, will be covered in the same steel alloy that co-founder Elon Musk plans to use on the exterior of his SpaceX Starship rocket._[14]
American car manufacturer Fisker marketed a hybrid car in 2007 and was almost immediately sued by Tesla, who claimed that Fisker stole technology from them. Although Fisker won the lawsuit, and Tesla was forced to pay them $1.1 million in legal fees, they still had to shut down for a few years before they found investors in China._[5]