How It Works-Amazing Vehicles

B

atter y electric vehicles (BEVs) have been

around for longer than you would expect.

The fi rst examples of cars powered by

electricity were in the early-19th century, and

were commonplace until the internal

combustion engine took over. The fi rst

examples were very basic and couldn’t be

recharged. However, the modern-day BEV has

evolved a lot since back then and has overcome

technical diffi culties that made them

prev iously unsuitable for our roads.

Charging time has always been a big issue

among the motoring communit y where BEVs

are concerned. Previous examples of BEVs have

usually had charging times of around 8-12

hours from UK sockets. This time has been

dramatically reduced by new technologies

explored by manufacturers like Nissan with the

Leaf. Indeed, the Leaf can be charged from fl at

to 80 per cent capacity in around 30 minutes

from a special charging port.

Nissan has also applied some ver y creative

theories to improve the overall effi ciency of the

Leaf. For example, the front LED lights are

designed to defl ect airfl ow away from the wing

mirrors. This reduces aerodynamic drag acting

on the car, so that less power is needed to

propel the vehicle for wards.

Whereas existing BEVs have had issues with

large batter y packs taking up cabin space, the

Nissan engineers have developed theirs to free

up space. This is achieved by having the thin

24-kilowatt-hour battery pack underneath the

fl oor. This also has the added benefi ts of

improv ing handling and structural rigidit y.

Modern BEVs are becoming increasingly

technologically advanced, with the Leaf having

a dedicated app for smartphones. This can be

used to start a charging session, activate

climate control and to check estimated driv ing

range information without leav ing your sofa.

See how modern electric

cars are stepping up a gear...

Eco cars evolved

Take a look at the cutting-edge

technology powering the

Nissan Leaf electric car

Inside the new

Nissan Leaf

Battery cells

A total of 192 cells that are

similar to your mobile phone

batteries give a range of up

to 200km (124mi).

Battery pack

The battery pack and controller

unit weighs 300kg (660lb), so

is positioned as low as possible

to improve handling.

Regenerative brakes

The electric motor can

absorb the energy usually

lost as heat in braking and

put it back into the batteries.

Eco car

timeline

We track the rise of

electric-powered

vehicles from their

conception to today

1830s

First electric

carriage

Scotsman Robert

Anderson builds

and drives a basic

(non-rechargeable)

electric carriage.

1897

Electric cabs

The Pope Manufacturing

Company becomes the

fi rst large-scale electric

car maker, fi lling the NYC

streets with electric taxis.

1899

Speed record

The French-built ‘La

Jamais Contente’

becomes the fi rst

electric car to reach

100km/h (62mph).

1920s

Internal

combustion

engine

By the end of the

Twenties, the electric

car is surpassed by

combustion engines.

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