Electric Vehicle Options Guide for First-Time Buyers

What Kind of Electric Vehicles Can You Buy?

Over the last couple of decades, vehicle efficiency has improved considerably for gasoline and diesel engine. But even though we’ve seen a lot of improvement, it hasn’t quite been enough. These advancements haven’t exactly lived up to the fuel-free and efficient future that drivers have dreamed of.

Thankfully, in the last 5 or so years, automakers from around the world have invested heavily in developing electric vehicles. These vehicles offer the efficiency drivers are looking for at a much more affordable price than ever before.

Different Types of Electric Vehicles

You may think that the term “electric vehicles” refers to just purely electric models. Though fully electric vehicles are certainly included in that, there is much more variety than you may be aware of.

Fully electric vehicles are powered purely by a battery. You can charge them at home or at a charging station, and generally, that charge will give you a driving range of hundreds of miles before the battery needs to charge again. Apart from electricity, there is no fuel involved.

Another form of an electric vehicle is called fuel cell electric. We don’t see these often here in the United States, but they do exist. These models have an electric battery and use a hydrogen fuel source that requires fillups just like a gasoline-powered vehicle does. That said, they tend to be far more efficient than your typical gasoline model.

Hybrid vs Plug-In Hybrid

Plug-in hybrid models combine the best of gasoline engines and electric batteries. In these vehicles, an electric motor and a gasoline engine work together to power your vehicle. But, isn’t that the exact same thing as a typical hybrid?

This is true. Both utilize this combination of gasoline and electric power. The key difference, however, is that a plug-in hybrid can also operate on pure electric power when necessary. Typically this range isn’t for much more than your daily commute or running an errand, but the options is there. Additionally, a plug-in hybrid can be plugged in to recharge the battery for when you want to use the fully electric power again.

[Read more: New Charger Daytona SRT Concept Previews Dodge’s Electric Future]

Here at Rairdon’s CDJR of Marysville, we have source brands that offer plenty of electrically-powered vehicles. Even off-road leaders from Jeep are going electric, so to learn more, contact us today.