Alternative fuel vehicle

An alternative fuel vehicle is a motor vehicle that runs on something other than traditional fossil fuels. Most cars use gasoline or diesel, which come from petroleum. Alternative vehicles use different kinds of power to move. These include biofuels like ethanol, hydrogen fuel, or even electricity.

Some people call electric vehicles "alternative energy vehicles" because they use electricity instead of liquid fuel. Using these new ways to power cars is a high priority for many governments. This is because of concerns about air pollution and climate change.

There are many ways these vehicles work. Flexible-fuel vehicles, or FFVs, use an engine that can burn more than one fuel. They often use a mix of ethanol and gasoline in the same tank.

You might see mixtures called E85, which means the fuel is 85% ethanol. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) work differently. They store energy in large battery packs to power an electric motor.

These cars are often called zero emission vehicles because they have no tailpipe emissions. Some researchers are even testing ways to make the car's body act as its own battery.

Vehicle engines have changed a lot over time. Gasoline engines first appeared in the 1860s and 1870s. Before they became common, other engines were used. In the 18th century, people used steam engines. In the early 19th century, some vehicles ran on gases. Even earlier, in the 1830s, electricity was used to power engines.

It took until the 1930s for gasoline engines to completely dominate the roads. Modern battery-powered cars have a long history too. People began building modern electric cars in the 1950s.

Many different types of these vehicles are on the road today. By the end of 2022, there were about 159 million alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles sold worldwide.

Over 65 million of these were flex-fuel vehicles. Brazil had the most flex-fuel cars with 38.3 million. There were also over 26 million plug-in electric vehicles. China had 13.8 million of those, while the United States had 3 million. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are also growing. By the end of 2022, there were 70,200 hydrogen vehicles, and South Korea had the most with 29,500.

Learning about these vehicles helps us understand our changing world. We can see how technology moves from old ways to new ways. For example, the Nissan Leaf was a very famous electric car. It was the top-selling highway-capable electric car until December 2019.

We can also look at how a car's whole life affects the planet. This is called a life-cycle assessment. It looks at how a car is made and what happens after it is used. Battery electric vehicles usually have lower greenhouse gas emissions over their whole life than gasoline or diesel cars.