Electric vehicle conversion
Many people prefer to pick a vehicle that is light and aerodynamic in order to maximize distance traveled per battery charge.
][citation needed] The charger which restores energy to the batteries (which may be mounted within the vehicle or at a special charging station at some fixed location).
[9] The biggest barrier to the widespread success of the EV conversion industry is the availability of batteries and motors, as vehicle manufacturers are not eager to sell their technology for this purpose.
However, an open source community has grown alongside the electric vehicle conversion industry to enable batteries and motors from different manufacturers to work in unison in order to lower costs and overcome availability issues.
Short-range battery electric vehicles can offer the hobbyist comfort, utility, and quickness, sacrificing only range.
Short-range EVs may be built using high-performance lead–acid batteries, using about half the mass needed for a 100–130 km (60–80 miles) range.
[14][15] In 2008, several Chinese manufacturers began marketing lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries directly to hobbyists and vehicle conversion shops.
These batteries offered much better power-to-weight ratios allowing vehicle conversions to typically achieve 120–240 km (75–150 mi) per charge.
[16][17] The small power generated by solar cells mounted on a vehicle means that the other components in the system must be special to compensate for this.
The conversion process starts with the selection of a donor car, which can be powered by fuel (petrol, diesel or hybrid).
[18][19][20] If the donor vehicle is a hybrid, the driveshaft can be retained also, as it has already been designed to work with electric car batteries and power delivery systems.
)[29][30] The work of these companies has been highlighted by publications including Autocar,[31] Fully Charged,[32] IrishEVs[33] and Auto Express[34] as prices have fallen and demand has increased for affordable conversions alongside high-end options.
Some states require safety inspections, usually to ensure body integrity in areas subject to severe corrosion from winter road de-icing materials.
In any case, for general registration all functional safety equipment should be operating – turn signals, brake lights, headlights, horn, etc.
The windshield should have no running cracks (small stone chips and "stars" may be acceptable if not in the driver's principal line of vision).
On the other hand, changing the registration allows a conversion to qualify for tax incentives available in some states, such as Oregon, for either the vehicle, the charging system, or both.
