You may have many questions in your mind before you actually go for an electric car, these question are natural. The first thing comes to the mind is how far the car can go and where to recharge the car.

This probably is biggest deterrent for the people who want to buy an electric car. In addition there are other issues like long distance commuting, cost of batteries and other problem. For those who have to use the vehicle for long distance, the electric car is not for you.

Electric vehicle (EV) are suitable for city driving and where recharge points are freely available. There are some vehicles like Tesla Roaster which have a range of 240 miles which seems to be a good distance covered by the electric car. The price is again a deterrent for Tesla Roaster which is around 100,000 dollars; the cheapest vehicles have very short running range and are not suitable for long distance and can be used for driving in city area.

Many potential electric vehicles purchasers are not satisfied with the current electric car technology, but this is also a fact that many governments across the world are developing network infrastructure to install high current low time charging solutions. There are some stations which take 20 to 30 minutes for charging which seems quite reasonable as this time can be used as coffee or burger break.

Recharging from the household sockets may take several hours due to single phase 10 amp limitations of many power points. Some of the countries like Japan and the United States are exploring using 3 – 6 times the energy density of current lithium ion batteries.

Another option could be using Lithium polymer batteries which is considered to be future technology, with this technology range will not remain the issue. This mostly depends upon the number and type of batteries; you may also need a motor which matches the batteries.

The cars which have fast speed will be expensive as the consumption of batteries is more as the motors require more current to run. There are other concerns like exploding of Lithium ion batteries.

Another concern is the safety of electric car; these concerns are being resolved and are at the verge of being solved. The biggest risk is high voltage wiring in the electric car which is not there in the conventional petrol powered engine.

There has to be a safety device like accelerometer kills switches, which will switch off the power from the batteries in case of an accident. Generally electric cars are quite safe as there is no petrol or gasoline in such vehicles.

One has to be extra vigilant at the time of recharge as there is possibility of electric shock, finally the removal of gear box will help the driver to concentrate on driving instead of changing the gears. The vehicle should be able to take you to favorite holiday destination; such a driving may not be possible with electrical cars.

There has to be proper service stations where expert mechanics are available who have thorough knowledge of such cars. Since the technology is being developed, we may soon see all the obstacles removed for a smooth drive of an electrical car.

To enter the relatively immature market of electric cars, the Reva electric car company was initially a joint venture between Maini Group of India and group of investors of California.

This was a sort of gambling, the company has not reported any profits so far, because all the income is being utilized in the research and development. There has been lot of changes in the ownership and shareholding pattern in the recent past before the Reva electric vehicles hit the market.

Mahindra and Mahindra of India has acquired major shares of Reva car company 2010, which is 55.2%. Such changes gave a chance to Californian investors to bail out at the early stage even though the value of the company is around USD 100 million; the investors left the company with more than what they had already invested. The exact terms of transactions were never made public; hence the exact details are still unknown.

Mahindra and Mahindra has multi dollar business and being financially sound was able to make significant investment in the Reva Electric Car Company. Even though there were some issues with the original partnership which were renegotiated, the company no doubt has a bright future.

The big question is why Reva is so successful, the answer is simple like many small electric vehicle manufacturers, Reva has made its place in the growing electric car market where big players hesitated in investing, the result is today Reva has shown good growth with popular models like Reva I, Reva NXR, Reva NXG and in addition many other models are being introduced in near future.

Earlier it was very easy to identify electric cars from a distance, but today companies like Reva and Tesla Motors has totally revolutionized the electric car market. It is very essential to investment large amount in research and development; this is required to develop the designs which ultimately become quite popular with the masses.

Though there has been a significant growth in the electric car market in the last decade but it requires governments to encourage the developments of such cars which being environment friendly and reduces the toxic emissions. This toxic emission has contributed largely to the destruction of natural resources and added to the air pollution.

Some of the governments have significantly encouraged such ventures by giving various tax incentives to the manufacturers and the public to push the sales of these cars. Such a step will encourage people to use these cars and also contribute to the environment.

The conclusion is that Reva cars have very good reputation in the electric car market and with the companies like Mahindra and Mahindra taking interest in such ventures is sure to boost the market. Mahindra and Mahindra are leaders in automobile technology and have many designed vehicles to their credit.

Such step has made Reva quite popular world over and it is believed that the future of Reva Car Company is quite bright. The future of electric cars in the world is quite promising; more automobile companies should start looking for options in the electric vehicle market and start investing.

Involving many automobile companies will bring more electric cars on the roads and this will help the governments also to save the precious foreign exchange which they have to spend in importing oil from various countries.

Hybrid cars are becoming more and more acceptable to the people, in quest for a substitute for the gasoline. Hybrid vehicles can be powered using different technologies including electric and solar energy, besides the traditional gasoline.

Of late, the manufacturers have started wait-listing the requests for different hybrid cars, in view of rising demand in the market. No doubt, hybrid cars are very special products, but their maintenance requires a different skill.

Here are some sound tips for a user to consider carefully.

Batteries Maintenance

With the introduction of the hybrid vehicle in the market, the battery pack was costing about $2000, in contrast to a mere $100 for a non-hybrid car, which was initially a shock for many buyers.

But the situation has changed fast and a hybrid car now comes to the market with a warranty like any other normal model. The car manufacturer, Toyota Corporation is offering 8 years warranty for the first 100000 miles for their new model Prius. This really gives some relief to the users.

Many other manufacturers are also falling in line with similar offers of warranties ranging between 80000 to 150000 miles. The cost of battery package cannot be held excessive, when considering with these generous warranty offers.

Another great advantage is that the cost of battery has become drastically low now, in comparison with what was at the introduction stage. The battery that was costing around $2000 five years ago could now be bought from the market for a price as low as $500.

Scheduled Maintenance

A main point of concern of the prospective buyer of a hybrid car is the scheduled maintenance. But in most of the cases it is not very much different from the ordinary cars, but one has to ensure that the service of a mechanic skilled in hybrid vehicles alone is utilized for the purpose.

Except a little variations, most of the maintenance keys are similar to the other cars. Special points of attention are the replacement of the air filters of the battery for every 40000 miles and oil changes at every 5000 miles, in addition to the common maintenance points.

With some hybrid models, the maintenance cost will be far less and a best example is the brake system that regenerates itself, by which a car can be run up to 80000 miles without replacement of the original brake pads.

Increased Fuel Economy

Many car manufactures exhibit high MPG rating for their cars as the part of advertisement, which may not always be true, when one goes to take to driving. Despite all these, hybrid models typically get more mileage and help reduce fuel cost.

It is possible to run a hybrid car on alternative power system and switch over to the fuel, at the choice of the user. But the running costs may vary to a commuter on high ways taking to fast driving, in comparison with the one who takes to city driving for a few miles to reach to his work spot and back.

The manufacturers mostly rate the MPG for their cars between 45 – 50 but at actual running this may fall short by 20%. In most of the hybrid models, the expected MPG would be around 38, for fast driving to long distances.