The electric car came from a series of 1800s breakthroughs, from the battery to the electric motor. The first successful electric car in the U.S. appeared around 1890. It was a six-passenger vehicle with a top speed of 14 miles per hour. By 1900, electric cars made up around a third of all vehicles on the road. Steam cars could need up to 45 minutes to start in the cold. Early gasoline cars had to be started with a hand crank.

Electric motors work by electromagnetism: a force is applied when an electric current is in a magnetic field. An electric motor changes electrical energy into motion. In an electric car, the motor shaft is coupled to the wheels. The controller sets how much power goes to the motor, based on the accelerator pedal. An electric car's motor stops when the car stops, so it does not idle.

An electric car has a charge port that connects it to an outside power supply. The onboard charger changes incoming AC electricity from the charge port into DC power for the battery. Drivers can charge at home with Level 1 equipment that comes with the car, or install Level 2 (240 V) equipment for a faster charge. DC fast charging is the fastest of the three types of plug-in charging, as of November 2026.

In a gas car, the electronic control module controls the fuel mixture and ignition timing. The transmission passes the engine's power on to the wheels. A gearbox lets a gas engine run at efficient speeds no matter how fast the car is going. In a rear-wheel drive gas car, a drive shaft connects the gearbox to the drive wheels. Gears are used to increase speed or to increase force.

In a gas car, brakes turn the car's motion energy into heat through friction. When an electric car slows down, its motor can act as a generator and send energy to the battery. Regenerative braking reduces wear on an electric car's brakes. A regenerative brake system cannot do all the braking, so a friction brake system is still needed for heavy braking.

A hybrid electric car has both an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors. A hybrid car's regenerative braking uses the forward motion of the wheels to turn the motor, which makes electricity and helps slow the car.

Words to know

• electromagnetism: magnet and current
• gearbox: gear housing
• hybrid: engine-motor car
• friction: rubbing
• regenerative: energy-returning