An electric car is an alternative fuel car that uses electric motors and motor controllers instead of an internal combustion engine (ICE). Currently, in most cases, electrical power is derived from battery packs carried on board the vehicle. Other energy storage methods that may come into use in the future include the use of ultracapacitors, or storage of energy in a spinning flywheel.

The term electric vehicle is often used, implying, in context, an electric road vehicle, though in its broader sense it covers all vehicles with electrical propulsion including trains and trams.

Vehicles that make use of both electric motors and other types of engine are known as hybrid electric vehicles and are not considered pure electric vehicles (EVs) because they operate in a charge-sustaining mode. Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be charged externally from an external source are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and become pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) during their charge-depleting mode. Other types of electric vehicles besides cars include light trucks and neighborhood electric vehicles.