Do electric cars drive like automatic cars? Unless you’ve actually sat in an electric car before, then you probably wouldn’t know that there is a shifter in the cabin like most cars, but do they have gears?
Similar to conventional cars, but they couldn’t be so different at the same time if that makes sense. Electric cars do not have gears. There you go, we’ve said it. We’re putting it out there before we go any further. Why? Because they don’t need a clutch, so they only need to have one gear and one gear only. Gone are the days of revving with electric cars, no need for any of that. Just a simple flick of the switch and you’re good to go.
Are they classed as manuals or automatics?
So, technically, electric cars have an automatic transmission rather than a manual. This is a bonus if you’re a city driver with all that stop-and-go city driving.
Why do electric cars only have one gear?
An electric car can rev (revolutions per minute/number of times the engine/electric motor turns per minute) significantly higher than your normal engine. For example, your typical engine is looking at around 4,000 – 6,000 per minute, whereas your electric motor is on around 20,000! There’s just such a big gap it’s unbelievable.
Your normal petrol and diesel cars need a gearbox with more than one gear because their engines just aren’t strong enough to be able to produce useable torque and power with a narrow engine speed. Electric cars though, we’re talking a maximum torque almost instantly from zero revs. Electrics are capable of reaching top speed in a single gear, they don’t need much help really.
Electric cars basically don’t need more than one gear. The only thing that an electric car needs is that little selector for forwards and backwards that is similar to what you would see in an automatic, there will be no gearbox that operates at different speeds. Just drive, reverse, and neutral, that’s all you need.
When you launch an electric car, it’s as smooth a ride as ever we’re able to get at the moment. Not jolts from changing gear, just continuous thrust forward. Electric cars can achieve the same speed as a combustion engine with just a single gear! The best part is that you don’t need to have an intricate understanding of how electric motors to know how an electric car works.
Will there ever be more than one gear?
It’s currently unknown whether or not electric cars will ever need more than just one gear. We’d like to think not and that they can survive on their own with just the one. Manufacturers like Renault have put manual gears into cars like its Formula One car and Genovation GXE.
You’ll never have to worry about stalling again in an electric car! If that’s not a reason to not have manual gears fitted, we don’t know what is. Why ruin a good thing if you don’t need to? There’s no need to increase the confusion and make it more complicated if you don’t have to. No one wants electric cars to follow suit with multiple gears, they are unique for sure, and having more than one gear will only make it more inefficient in our eyes.
At the end of the day, electric cars have become more and more increasingly popular, and we doubt that’s not new news for you. They’re advanced, more affordable, especially that we’re nearing that 2030 petrol and diesel ban sooner than we first thought. Expect more and big things to come, advances and tech that are going to make our lives that little bit easier.
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