How do electric cars work?

EVs are the hottest topic in town right now. Sales are through the roof, and there's every chance that the top selling car in Australia by the end of this year will be an EV. The first time that's even looked like remotely happening.

But, like many, if you've only ever driven an internal combustion engine-loaded vehicle you might not understand what's actually happening under the hood, or even underneath your seat.

Buckle up, because you're about to find out.

An electric car stores its energy in a large lithium-ion battery pack, usually mounted under the floor. When you press the accelerator, a power electronics unit called an inverter converts the battery’s direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC) and feeds it to an electric motor, which turns the wheels through a simple single-speed gearbox. When you lift off or brake, the motor works in reverse as a generator and sends energy back into the battery.

There’s no engine, no fuel tank and no exhaust, and far fewer moving parts. Instead of filling up, you plug in.

That’s the short version. Below, we break down each component, how the battery and motor work, why EVs don’t need a conventional gearbox, how charging works in Australia and how an EV differs from a hybrid.

An electric car has five core parts: a traction battery that stores energy, an inverter that converts and controls power, an electric motor that drives the wheels, a reduction gear that passes the motor’s output to the axle, and an onboard charger that lets you top up from a household or wallbox supply. A thermal management system keeps them all at the right temperature.

Here’s what each component does, and the closest equivalent in a petrol car.

An electric car battery is made of hundreds or thousands of individual lithium-ion cells, grouped into modules and then sealed into one large pack. The cells store energy chemically and release it as DC electricity. Capacity is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is the EV equivalent of a fuel tank’s size in litres.

A battery management system monitors every cell’s voltage and temperature, balances the charge between them and limits how fast the pack can charge or discharge to protect it. The figure manufacturers quote is often the gross capacity; the usable figure is slightly lower because a buffer is held back to protect the cells.

As a rough guide, smaller city EVs carry batteries of around 40–50kWh, while long-range models carry 75–100kWh. The Hyundai Inster city car, for example, uses a 42kWh or 49kWh battery depending on the variant, for a claimed range of 293–360km on the WLTP test. At the other end, every 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 uses an 84kWh battery, and the seven-seat Kia EV9 offers up to 99.8kWh.

Most EVs sold in Australia use one of two lithium-ion chemistries.

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are generally cheaper per kWh, withstand more charge cycles and are happy to be charged to 100 per cent regularly. Tesla, for example, recommends that owners of LFP-equipped cars keep the charge limit at 100 per cent, even for daily use. The trade-off is lower energy density, so an LFP pack is heavier for the same range. LFP is common in entry-level EVs such as the BYD Atto 3 and the base rear-wheel-drive Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, while the Long Range versions of both Teslas use NMC batteries.

Nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries store more energy for their weight, which suits long-range and performance models such as the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y Long Range. Manufacturers often recommend charging NMC packs to around 80 per cent for daily use and saving a full charge for long trips. Kia’s 2026 EV owner’s manual, for example, recommends charging its standard and extended-range batteries to no more than 80 per cent. Guidance varies by brand and model, so check the owner’s manual for your car.

Most EVs run a battery system of around 400 volts (V). A growing number, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Porsche Taycan, use an 800V system. Higher voltage means less current is needed for the same power, so 800V cars can accept faster DC charging with less heat, provided the charger supports it. On a 400V charger, an 800V car charges more slowly. Porsche, for example, quotes up to 320 kilowatts (kW) for the Taycan at an 800V charger, but up to 150kW at a 400V one.

An electric motor turns the wheels using magnetism. The inverter sends AC through copper windings in the motor’s stationary outer part, the stator, creating a rotating magnetic field. The inner part, the rotor, is pulled around by that field and spins the driveshaft. The inverter controls the frequency and strength of the current, which sets the motor’s speed and torque.

Because an electric motor makes its maximum torque from zero revs, EVs feel quick off the line. There’s no waiting for an engine to build revs or a gearbox to kick down.

Most EVs use a permanent-magnet synchronous motor, which has rare-earth magnets in the rotor and is efficient and compact. Induction motors use no magnets but are less efficient, so they’re now mostly used as the secondary motor in dual-motor, all-wheel-drive models. A third type, the electrically excited synchronous motor, uses copper coils instead of magnets in the rotor, so it needs no rare-earth metals. BMW uses this design in models such as the i4, iX, i5 and i7, and Renault uses it in its E-Tech electric models.

Many EVs use one motor driving either the front or rear wheels. Dual-motor versions add a second motor on the other axle for all-wheel drive, and some performance models use three or four motors.

Almost every electric car uses a single-speed reduction gear rather than a multi-speed gearbox. An electric motor delivers useful torque across a very wide rev range, typically up to 10,000–15,000rpm and beyond 20,000rpm in some performance models, so one fixed ratio covers everything from a standstill to highway speeds. By comparison, most petrol engines run out of revs at around 6000rpm. There’s no clutch and no gear changes, just a selector for park, reverse, neutral and drive.

There are a few exceptions. The Porsche Taycan uses a two-speed transmission on the rear axle: a short first gear for stronger acceleration from a standstill, and a long second gear for efficiency at high speeds. Its sister car, the Audi e-tron GT, uses the same arrangement.

What about a manual electric car? No mainstream manual EV is on sale. Some performance EVs simulate gear changes to make driving more engaging. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N’s N e-Shift system uses software to mimic the shifts of an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, and Lexus has shown a UX 300e prototype with a simulated six-speed manual and clutch pedal. These are software tricks; the car still drives through a single fixed ratio.

Regenerative braking uses the electric motor as a generator to slow the car down. When you lift off the accelerator or press the brake, the wheels drive the motor, which converts the car’s movement back into electricity and sends it to the battery. This recovers energy that a petrol car would waste as heat in its brakes, and helps extend driving range.

Most EVs let you adjust how strong the regenerative braking is, using steering-wheel paddles or a menu setting. At the strongest setting, many offer ‘one-pedal driving’: lifting off the accelerator slows the car firmly, often to a complete stop, so you rarely touch the brake pedal in traffic.

It can definitely take some time to get used to regen braking, but once you've moved past the initial shock phase, it feels very natural and you'll wonder why you ever drove without it.

EVs still have conventional friction brakes for hard stops and emergencies. Because regenerative braking does much of the everyday work, brake pads and rotors on an EV tend to wear more slowly.

You charge an electric car by plugging it into a power point, a home wallbox or a public charger. AC charging from home or a destination charger goes through the car’s onboard charger, which converts it to DC for the battery. DC fast charging bypasses the onboard charger and feeds the battery directly, which is why it’s much quicker.

Charging speed is measured in kilowatts (kW), while battery capacity is measured in kWh. Put simply, kW is how fast energy flows and kWh is how much is stored.

Source: Transport for NSW. Actual speed depends on the car, the charger, battery temperature and state of charge

The car sets the limit too. EV onboard chargers are typically rated at between 6.6kW and 11kW. The BYD Dolphin Essential’s is rated at 7kW, so it can’t use the full output of a 22kW wallbox, while the Kia EV6 can take up to 11kW from a three-phase wallbox. The same applies to DC charging: the BYD Dolphin Essential charges at up to 60kW, so it won’t charge any faster on a 350kW unit than on a 60kW one (as of November 2026). DC charging also slows once the battery passes about 80 per cent to protect the cells, which is why Transport for NSW recommends charging to 80 per cent at fast chargers.

Your home’s wiring matters as well. About 90 per cent of Australian homes are wired for single-phase power, which suits a wallbox of up to 7.4kW; you need three-phase power for 11kW or more, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.

Most electric cars sold new in Australia use a Type 2 plug for AC charging and a CCS2 (Combined Charging System) plug for DC fast charging, which shares the Type 2 socket with two extra DC pins below. Some models from Japanese brands use the CHAdeMO DC standard instead, with a separate Type 2 port for AC charging. The best-known example is the previous-generation Nissan Leaf; the new-generation Leaf is expected to switch to CCS2 in Australia.

RELATED: A guide to fast, and slow, EV charging options

An electric car runs only on a battery and motor and must be plugged in to charge. A hybrid pairs a petrol engine with a small battery and electric motor, and never plugs in; its battery is charged by the engine and regenerative braking. A plug-in hybrid sits in between, with a bigger battery you can charge from the grid for short electric-only trips before the engine takes over.

In a regular hybrid, the electric motor mostly assists the engine when pulling away and at low speeds, cutting fuel use in stop-start driving. For a full explanation of how each system works, read our guide on which works best for you.

If you’ve decided a fully electric car suits you, you can browse new electric cars on carsales.

No single person invented the electric car. Several inventors in Europe and the US built electric vehicles through the 1800s, and electric cars were a common sight on city streets around 1900, before cheap petrol and mass-produced combustion cars pushed them aside for most of the 20th century.

British inventor Robert Anderson built a crude electric carriage in the first half of the 1800s. In April 1881, French inventor Gustave Trouvé drove a tricycle fitted with an electric motor and batteries through Paris, which Guinness World Records recognises as the first electric road vehicle. English engineer Thomas Parker built what is regarded as the first practical production electric car in 1884, and around 1890 William Morrison, a chemist from Des Moines in Iowa, built a six-seat electrified wagon, often called the first successful electric car in the US.

Around 1900, electric cars made up roughly a third of all vehicles on US roads. They faded after Henry Ford’s Model T, launched in 1908, made petrol cars affordable, and the electric starter motor, introduced by Charles Kettering in 1912, removed the need to hand-crank a petrol engine.

The modern revival began with General Motors’ EV1 in the 1990s, followed by Tesla’s Roadster sports car, announced in 2006, and the Nissan Leaf, launched in the US in late 2010. In Australia, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV became the first mass-produced EV available here in July 2010, initially leased to a small group of fleet and private customers.

No. Electric cars have no engine oil, oil filter, spark plugs or timing belt. They still need servicing for tyres, brakes, brake fluid, coolant, cabin filters and the reduction gear’s fluid, but there are fewer consumables than a petrol car. Service intervals vary by brand.

EV batteries lose capacity gradually over time rather than failing suddenly, and they’re covered by a separate battery warranty. Most brands in Australia offer eight years or 160,000km, while some offer unlimited kilometres or up to 250,000km, and a few, such as Kia, offer seven years (as of November 2026). Where the warranty sets a minimum capacity, it’s usually 70 per cent. Tesla, for example, guarantees its batteries will keep at least 70 per cent of their capacity for eight years and 160,000km or 192,000km, depending on the variant. Terms vary, so check the battery warranty for the specific car you’re considering.

It depends on battery size and efficiency. Claimed ranges for EVs on sale in Australia run from about 300km to more than 600km on the WLTP test cycle. Real-world range drops with high speeds, cold weather, heavy loads and towing.

Yes, but heat matters. The thermal management system uses liquid cooling, and often a heat pump, to keep the battery in its preferred temperature range while driving and charging. In extreme heat, expect slightly higher energy use from air-conditioning and battery cooling, and slower DC charging if the pack is very hot.

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