JEE_V2_N3_RP3 Tom Page Journal on Electrical Engineering 2230 – 7176 2 3 36 50 electric vehicles, barriers, mass market Whether you believe that global warming is a real or imaginary scenario, the current climate change issues affecting our planet have given rise to an increasing anxiety regarding the current and approaching energy crisis. It is clear that there is now the need to find ways in which we can lessen the impact that we are having on the environment. This paper proposes that electric cars could be one such way. The technology associated with electric cars is now starting to advance in a way which is making them more suitable for all car users, no matter what their needs are. Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer just milk-floats or mobility buggies, the imagery typically associated with battery-powered travel, but super-fast, sexy, money saving machines that can now travel faster and for longer than most normal cars. Despite electric vehicles now becoming comparable to normal cars with internal combustion engines, they have not been adopted on a large scale. This paper aims to find out why this is the case. The author of this paper has studied electric cars, their technology and the industry over a period of time. The research contained within this paper, obtained through interview, questionnaire and literature review, shows both the range of benefits associated with electric cars and some their limitations. It also shows just how poorly people currently perceive electric cars even though they know little about them. January - March 2009 Copyright © 2009 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=256