
An
electric vehicle, or
EV, is a
vehicle with one or more
electric motors for propulsion. The motion may be provided either by wheels or propellers driven by rotary motors, or in the case of tracked
vehicles, by linear motors.
The energy used to propel the vehicle may be obtained from several sources:
• from chemical energy stored on the
vehicle in on-board batteries:
Battery electric vehicle; • from both an on-board rechargeable energy storage system and a fueled propulsion power source:
hybrid vehicle;• generated on-board using a combustion engine, as in a diesel-electric locomotive;
• generated on-board using a fuel cell: fuel cell
vehicle;
• generated on-board using nuclear energy, on nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers;
• from more esoteric sources such as flywheels, wind and solar;
• from a direct connection to land-based generation plants, as is common in electric trains and trolley buses.