Plug In Electric Cars

By Aaron Turpen, Mon, July 18, 2011

When most people hear "plug-in electric" in reference to a car, they think of battery electric vehicles like the Tesla Roadster or Nissan Leaf. Plug-in cars, however, are literally any electric car that can be plugged into the grid (e.g. a standard outlet) to charge its batteries.

Most plug-in vehicles can run on those batteries for at least short distances. The vehicle, however, does not have to be a pure battery electric. The Chevrolet Volt, which has a gasoline engine, is a plug-in electric because it can be charged and run on that charge for short distances before using the engine.

Examples of Plug-in Electric Cars

Some examples of plug-in electric cars include:

Pure Electrics:

BMW Mini-E
Ford Transit Connect Electric
General Motors EV1
Mitsubishi iMiEV
Nissan Leaf
Tesla Roadster

Hybrid Electrics:

Chevrolet Volt
Fisker Karma
Toyota Prius Plugin

In addition, many of the prototype fuel cell vehicles being tested now are also plug-in electrics.

The Future of Plug-in Cars

Plug-in vehicles are likely going to be around for a while. Although pure battery electric vehicles may not be the only solution for future transportation, the concept of a vehicle with at least limited batteries on board for some of its power and the idea of electric vehicles, no matter where their main power source, are definitely concepts that will be on the road for some time to come.

Whether the future belongs purely to battery electrics, hybrid electrics, hydrogen fuel cells, or some other technology is not easy to guess. But that the future will include plug-in vehicles is definitely a no brainer.