In simple terms torque is a measure of force when rotating an object about an axis. The reason why this particular subject is so important with electric vehicles is because instantly as soon as you step on the gas your EV will have maximum torque creating instant acceleration. The torque will reduce as the speed increases due to a variety of issues such as friction, overheating of the engine and other constraints. This is why very often you will see electric vehicles accelerate instantly from a standing start leaving even the fastest traditionally powered sports cars in their wake.
To summarise, the torque in electric vehicle is highest from a standing start and will reduce as the speed increases. The situation is the exact opposite for a traditional powered vehicle which will take some time to build up the torque hence the reason why some of the EV v traditional powered vehicle races you see on YouTube results in some electric vehicles being caught the longer the race goes on.
The reason why an electric vehicle has instant maximum torque is because it uses magnets as opposed to translating linear motion into rotational motion. In simple terms, an electric vehicle engine is far more efficient than a traditional gasoline/petrol/diesel counterpart.
If anyone could expand on this or simplify the explanation this would be appreciated.