Of the four environmentally-friendly vehicles, the electric vehicle (EV) has the simplest structure. An electric vehicle uses the electric energy charged in the battery when starting up and accelerating. This energy powers the motor that drives the wheels. And, when decelerating or running down a slope, the inertial kinetic energy turns the motor into a power generator that recharges the battery. This technology is called a regenerative brake system.
An EV system uses an electric motor, so that the vehicle accelerates smoothly and drives in a very quiet manner. The vehicle emits zero pollutants. Also, the battery can be mounted at the bottom of the vehicle, so that the center of gravity of the vehicle is lowered. This gives you added advantage in vehicle control. The electric motors also take less space compared to internal combustion engines. This means there can be more interior space for people. The designers may have more freedom in designing a vehicle due to this advantage. And, there's more. The users may charge the vehicles with the relatively cheaper night time electricity and plug in the vehicle to the smart grid during the day when not using the vehicle, so that the power can be used for other purposes. The power from the battery can be used to energise other new technologies or autonomous driving features directly. Because of this, many think that electric vehicles are the vehicles that are ideally suited for the future.
As the battery capacity of electric vehicles increase, it takes longer to charge them. This might be a source of complaint in our daily life. Hyundai Motor Group is developing the dedicated 800V rapid recharging system, so that the inconvenience of charging a electric vehicle will be dramatically reduced by the introduction of this revolutionary technology. With the 800V rapid recharging system, we expect that only three minutes¡¯ recharging will allow the vehicle to drive 100km. For this, Hyundai Motor Group dedicates itself to the R&D efforts to enhance the energy density and improve the high voltage system technology.