Electric cars run a minimum of partially on electricity. Unlike conventional vehicles that use a gasoline or diesel-powered engine, electric cars and trucks use an electric motor powered by electricity from batteries or a cell.

Not all-electric vehicles (or “EVs”) work in an identical way. “Plug-in hybrids” offer both gasoline or internal-combustion engine and an electrical motor: the motor is powered by a battery that may be recharged by plugging in. Other EVs forgo liquid fuels entirely, operating exclusively on electricity (“battery-electric” vehicles). Still, others power an electrical motor by converting hydrogen gas into electricity (“hydrogen fuel cell” vehicles).

Conventional hybrid vehicles even have an electrical motor but aren’t considered EVs as they can’t be plugged-in.

In terms of pollution and gas emissions, electric cars and trucks are often cleaner than even the foremost efficient conventional vehicles. Exactly how clean depends on the kind of car and also the source of electricity. When battery-electric EVs are powered by the cleanest electricity grids, greenhouse emission emissions from EVs are like a car getting over 100 miles per gallon. When charged exclusively with renewable electricity like solar or wind, charging and operating an EV is often nearly emission-free.

Though electric cars are dearer to buy than their conventional counterparts, the upper upfront cost is commonly reduced through federal and state incentives. The price to refuel an electrical car may be a fraction of the price of gasoline, meaning that electric cars can have a lower total cost of ownership. Switching to an electrical car can save on an average of over $700 a year in fuel costs and over one thousand dollars a year in some cities.