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Automotive vocabulary · Electric Vehicles and Batteries

Inverter

Meaning in automotive, with examples

/ɪnˈvɜːrtər/nounCommon term

In automotive, inverter means: Power electronics that convert direct current (DC) from the battery into alternating current (AC) for the traction motor, controlling its speed and torque. During regenerative braking it works the other way.

In Turkish: invertör, evirici

How it is used

Used by power electronics and powertrain engineers. Common topics are inverter efficiency, inverter cooling and silicon carbide (SiC) switches, which reduce losses, especially in 800 V systems.

Example sentences

  1. The new silicon carbide inverter cut losses by almost a third.

  2. An inverter fault put the car into limp mode with reduced power.

Common collocations

  • traction inverter
  • inverter cooling
  • inverter efficiency
  • SiC inverter
  • traction motorThe electric motor that drives the wheels of an electric or hybrid vehicle. Most modern cars use permanent magnet synchronous motors, though induction motors are also used.
  • battery packThe large high-voltage battery that stores energy for an electric or hybrid vehicle. It is made of many cells grouped into modules, with cooling and control electronics in one housing.
  • regenerative brakingA way of slowing an electric or hybrid vehicle in which the electric motor works as a generator, turning the car's movement back into electricity that is stored in the battery.
  • limp modeA protective mode in which a control unit limits engine power, speed or gear selection after detecting a serious fault, so the car can still be driven slowly to a workshop.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Electric Vehicles and Batteries

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