Introduction to Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Abstract

AbstractPassenger vehicles are an essential part of everyone’s life, yet their exhaust fumes are a major source of urban pollution that contributes to the greenhouse effect, which leads to climate change. The world’s dependency on oil as the primary source of energy for passenger vehicles has economic and political ramifications, and the situation will undoubtedly worsen as the world’s oil stocks deplete. The development of clean, efficient, and sustainable vehicles for urban transportation is being pushed by both environmental and economic concerns. Electric vehicles (EVs) driven by alternative energy sources and enabled by high-efficiency electric motors and controllers provide a clean, efficient, and environmentally friendly urban transportation system. Furthermore, renewable energy sources such as water, wind, and solar energy may be used to generate electricity for EV. EV and HEV provide lots of new increasingly complex design issues never seen in traditional automotive technologies and transportation systems. The automobile industry is devoting significant resources to the development of electric vehicles to fulfill increasingly stringent standards for fuel efficiency, economy, vehicle safety, performance, and environmental protection. This chapter helps to gain knowledge of electric and hybrid vehicles, including the advantages and design problems that come with them.KeywordsElectric vehicles (EV)Environmental Pollution Index (EPI)Air Brake System (ABS)Internal combustion engine (ICE)Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)Degree of hybridization (DOH)State of charge (SOC)Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV)