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Do electric cars have a transmission?
I took a new Tesla for a test drive just a few days ago and I loved it. I was amazed by how smooth the acceleration was. As soon as I hit the pedal, the car jumped forward—I couldn’t even feel it shifting gears! That got me thinking… Do electric cars have gears?
Samuel Todd · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
No doubt, the newest electric cars put out some impressive acceleration. To answer your question, yes, electric cars have a transmission. While electric cars don’t have conventional multi-speed transmissions, they do have a single-speed transmission.
In old-school, gas-powered cars, transmissions have a set of gears that transfers power from the car’s engine to the tires. These gears, which are different sizes, work together to keep the car running properly. If the engine is rotating too slowly, it might stall; but if it starts spinning too quickly, it could overheat. So, the transmission changes gears to keep the engine running at the right rate.
Electric cars, on the other hand, have a set of gears that don’t shift (or change speeds). Their purpose is simply to slow down the rotation of the engine.
By turning the rapid rotation of the motor into a more manageable rotation for the car’s wheels, your EV can hum along properly. That’s why some folks will say that electric vehicles don’t have a real transmission—because it’s not really shifting gears. It’s just slowing the rotation of the engine down. It’s also why the acceleration that you feel in an electric car is so smooth!
If you’re considering taking home that Tesla that you test drove, you’re going to want to have some great car insurance.
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