How do electric cars work?

Electric cars are arriving on our streets, roads and driveways to stay, and yet there are still many doubts about how they work. To answer them, today we are going to look at how electric car motors work. Knowing each and every one of the parts that make up this type of motor is essential for understanding how electric cars work.

It is important to point out that electric vehicles, also known by their English abbreviation EV, Electric Vehicle, have an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine. In addition, the car uses a battery to power that drive unit. To have the necessary power, it must be plugged in or connected to a charging station or power outlet to recharge the battery. These charging stations can be public, private, or can even be installed in our garages in the form of a Wallbox.

Because it runs on electricity, the vehicle produces no exhaust gases through an exhaust pipe and does not contain the typical components of liquid fuel, such as a fuel pump, fuel lines and a fuel tank. At first glance, maintenance of this type of car is much simpler, as it has far fewer wear components and requires no oil or filter changes.

What are the key components of a fully electric car?

To help you understand how electric car motors work, let us go through the fundamental components of an electric car one by one. First, we find the auxiliary battery, which can supply electricity to power the vehicle’s accessories; to put it in perspective, it performs the same role as the accessory belt on a combustion engine.

Another important part is the charging port, which allows the vehicle to connect to an external power source to charge the battery. There is also the converter, a device that converts high-voltage DC energy into the low-voltage DC needed to run the vehicle’s accessories and recharge the auxiliary battery.

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The electric traction motor uses energy from the traction battery. This motor drives the vehicle’s wheels. Some cars use generators that perform both driving and regeneration functions. The onboard charger takes the incoming AC electricity supplied through the charging port and converts it into DC energy to charge the traction battery. It monitors battery characteristics such as voltage, current, temperature and state of charge while charging the pack.

The electronic power controller manages the flow of electrical energy supplied by the traction battery, controlling the speed of the electric traction motor and the torque it produces. The thermal system (cooling) maintains an appropriate operating temperature range for the motor, electric motor, power electronics and other components. The traction battery pack stores electricity for use by the electric traction motor. Last but not least, we find the (electric) transmission, which transfers mechanical power from the electric traction motor to the wheels.