Electric cars can be fitted with either DC or AC motors. If a car is equipped with a DC motor, then it can run on anything between 96 to 192 volts. The electric fork lift industry is a premier producer of DC motors for electric cars.

When an AC motor is used, it is most likely to be a three phase motor running at 240 volts AC with a 300 volt battery pack.

Installing a DC motor is definitely far simpler and cheaper than an AC motor. A regular DC motor will have a range of 20000 watts to 30000 watts and a controller will be in the 40000 to 60000 watt range i.e.  400 to 600 amps may be delivered by a 96 volt controller. They are exceptional in that they may be over driven (up to 10:1) for short spans of time. Meaning, a 20000 watts engine can receive 100000 watts for a short period and deliver up to 5 times of its horsepower. It is fantastic for bursts of acceleration, but repeatedly overdriving a vehicle may cause its motor to heat up and self destruct.

Installing AC motors is easier as any industrial 3 phase motor can be used. These are easier to find in terms of size, shape and power rating issues. AC motors and controllers come equipped with regenerative features which help the motor become a generator during braking, and supply power back to the batteries.

If there are any drawbacks to electric cars they are its batteries. The top six problems that lead – acid batteries face are:

They are massive with a typical battery pack weighing 1000 pounds or more.

They are ponderously large in size, with a car needing 50 batteries measuring 6x8x6 inches.

They are constrained in capacity where a regular battery may hold up to 15 kilowatt hours of electricity i.e. power for a 50 mile drive only.

These batteries can take anytime from 4 to 10 hours to recharge depending on battery technology and charger.

Their life span is 3 to 4 years or maybe 200 full charge/ discharge cycles.

They cost about 2000$.