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01
Electric Vehicle
An electric vehicle is driven using a 
battery and an electric motor. While 
general vehicles use an internal 
combustion engine and gasoline as fuel, 
electric vehicles use electrical energy 
that is charged inside the high voltage 
battery. As a result, electric vehicles are 
eco-friendly in that they do not require 
fuel and do not emit exhaust gases.
Characteristics of Electric 
Vehicles
1.  It is driven using the electrical energy 
that is charged inside the high voltage 
battery. This method prevents air 
pollution since fuel, like gasoline, is 
not required, negating the emission of 
exhaust gases. 
2.  A high performance motor is used 
in the vehicle as well. Compared to 
standard, internal combustion engine 
vehicles, engine noise and vibrations 
are much more minimal when driving. 
3.  When decelerating or driving 
downhill, regenerative braking is 
utilized to charge the high voltage 
battery. This minimizes energy loss 
and increases the distance to empty. 
4.  When the battery charge is not 
sufficient, AC charge, DC charge and 
trickle charge are available. (Refer to 
“Charge Types for Electric Vehicle” for 
details.)
 Information
What does regenerative braking do? 
It uses an electric motor when decelerating 
and braking and transforms kinetic 
energy to electrical energy in order to 
charge the high voltage battery. (Torque 
is applied in the opposite direction when 
decelerating to generate braking force and 
electric energy.)
Battery Information
ś The vehicle is composed of a high 
voltage battery that drives the motor 
and air-conditioner, and an auxiliary 
battery (12 V) that drives the lamps, 
wipers, and audio system. 
ś The auxiliary battery is automatically 
charged when the vehicle is in the 
ready (
) mode or the high 
voltage battery is being charged.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE