What does an electric car engine Look Like?

Mention an internal combustion engine (ICE), and most people have an image of the engine block with all its valves, pistons, and spark plugs, and what it looks like when you open the bonnet of a petrol- or diesel-powered car.

But ask the average person what an electric car engine looks like, and they’re unlikely to have a clearer mental picture of it. In fact, different people might have differing views on what an electric car’s ‘engine’ even is.

We’re used to ICE vehicles having a separate fuel tank, engine, transmission, exhaust, and so on, but what about EVs? Is the ‘engine’ just the motor, or do you include the batteries as well?

The answer is that the ‘engine’ is a misnomer in electric cars, as the drive comes from the motor. Let’s lift open the bonnet and look closely at the common components of an electric car powertrain.

What Are The Parts Of An Electric Car Engine?

Again, you can argue about the parts of an electric car engine, so let’s look at the typical route electric current takes through the vehicle from start to finish:

1. AC or DC power is supplied to the vehicle’s charger.
2. The charger transmits this power to the batteries, storing it for later use.
3. The batteries power the electric motor.
4. The motor turns the electrical energy into kinetic energy to turn the wheels.
It can be a little more complicated than this – there may be other electrical systems on board, such as entertainment, satnav, air conditioning, and so on — but as a fundamental overview, those are the main stages of charging and driving an EV.

How Does An Electric Car Engine Work?

It’s all about the motor. We’ve all used rechargeable batteries in mobile phones, laptops, and other household electronics, and the batteries in an EV are just a high-capacity version of that.

When you accelerate in an EV, electrical energy from the battery transmits to a component in the motor called the ‘stator’. This creates a spinning motion in the rotor, which turns the electricity into mechanical energy and turns the gears.

Most EVs don’t have a manual or automatic gearbox, except for the option to reverse. Other than that, it’s simply ‘stop’ and ‘go’, and the electric motor takes care of the rest.

What is an electric car inverter?

One component we still need to mention is the inverter. This is part of the circuit that connects the DC batteries to the AC electric motor, and you may have spotted the clue as to its function.

Batteries store electrical energy as direct current (DC), which flows in one uniform direction when connected to a circuit – that’s why a battery has a positive and negative terminal or ‘pole’.

However, electric motors are easier to control when running on alternating current (AC), where the polarity of the supply – the positive and negative characteristic – switches periodically.

The inverter is a device that takes a DC input and transforms it into an AC output, allowing electric cars to offer much more precise control when driving at high speeds.

What Does It All Look Like Inside An Electric Car Engine?

Returning to the question of what an electric car engine looks like, some electric car models are not too dissimilar to opening the bonnet of a modern ICE vehicle.

You’re likely to see a fairly traditional 12V battery, which is used when operating things like central locking with the vehicle’s motor turned off. Whether it’s the motor, electronics, or both that are connected to it, they are often housed in a container of a similar size and shape to a conventional ICE.

High-voltage components and cables are usually highlighted in bright orange to prevent accidental contact, so you might see a few fluorescent wires disappearing underneath the vehicle.

On the top electric car models and especially on the newest EVs on the market, you might not see much of anything under the bonnet — some, like the Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric, even have storage space.

It all depends on where the manufacturer has decided to place the motor and batteries, and what they’ve opted to do with the bonnet space. Check your operator’s manual or the manufacturer’s website before removing any protective panels, and stay clear of anything shielded in neon orange plastic.