Perpendicular accelerations of ions by the auroral electric fields are examined systematically using the test particle approach to assess their contribution to the ion conics observed on high-latitude field lines. The results show (1) that the existence of a nonzero parallel electric field component (E∥≠0) is a necessary condition for the static auroral electric fields to accelerate ions continuously across auroral field lines, (2) that the highly nonuniform two-dimensional auroral arc electric fields (with latitudinal thickness Lx≤&rgr;i; the ion gyroradius) can contribute to conic ions with energy up to a few keV; (3) that the moderately nonuniform two-dimensional electric field of the inverted V scale (Lx≫&rgr;i) can contribute to low energy conic ions less than a few tens electron volts, and (4) that the O+ ions can be accelerated across field lines more efficiently than the H+ ions, resulting in more energetic and more coniclike O+ ions than H+ ions.