Today, electric vehicles (EVs) are rapidly gaining popularity and market share as the world looks to transition away from polluting gasoline-powered cars. Major automakers are investing billions into developing new electric models, and many countries have set ambitious targets to phase out the sale of new gasoline cars entirely in the coming decades.
But the history of electric cars is much longer than many people realize, dating all the way back to the early 1800s, even before the first gasoline-powered vehicles. Let‘s take a ride through the fascinating journey of electric vehicle technology, from its early experimental days to becoming the future of transportation.
Electric Vehicle Pioneers in the 1800s
Shortly after Alessandro Volta invented the first battery in 1800, inventors realized this technology could be used to power vehicles. The first known electric vehicle was a small model car built by Hungarian inventor Ányos Jedlik in 1828, using his new electric motor design.
Around the same time, other inventors like Thomas Davenport and Sibrandus Stratingh began experimenting with battery-electric vehicles in the US and Netherlands. In 1835, professor Sibrandus Stratingh of Groningen, the Netherlands and his assistant Christopher Becker from Germany created a small-scale electric car, powered by non-rechargeable primary cells.
The first full-scale electric vehicles appeared in the second half of the 19th century. In 1867, Austrian inventor Franz Kravogl displayed his electric cycle at the World Exposition in Paris. French physicist Gustave Trouvé improved on the design and presented it in 1881. That same year, Charles Jeantaud and Camille Alphonse Faure exhibited a tilbury at the International Exhibition of Electricity in Paris equipped with an electric motor.
Electric Taxis Hit the Streets
By the late 1800s, electric cars using rechargeable lead-acid batteries began gaining traction for taxi services in major cities. In 1897, the first fleet of electric taxis, called Hummingbirds, began operating in London. That same year, the Samuel‘s Electric Carriage and Wagon Company began running 12 electric hansom cabs in New York City.
These early electric taxis had a range of about 30 miles and a top speed of 12 mph. They quickly became popular with taxi fleets for their ease of use, as they required no manual effort to start, as with hand-cranked gasoline engines at the time. By 1899, 90% of taxi cabs in New York City were electric.
Competition Between Electric, Steam and Gas
In the early 20th century, electric cars reached their heyday, competing favorably with gasoline and steam-powered vehicles. In fact, electric cars accounted for a third of vehicles on the road in 1900. Many prominent figures like Thomas Edison and Ferdinand Porsche took an interest in developing the technology.
Electric vehicles had many advantages over their gasoline and steam counterparts during this period. They did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars, and did not require manual effort to start, as with hand cranks in early internal combustion engines. They also didn‘t require gears and were much easier to operate, an appealing factor for many segments of the population, such as women who drove electric cars.
However, EVs faced two key disadvantages. Gasoline cars were able to travel longer distances, as the only good batteries at the time were heavy lead-acid batteries with limited energy density. Lack of charging infrastructure, especially in rural areas, made "range anxiety" and the fear of being stranded a key deterrent for many potential buyers. Secondly, electric cars were more expensive than gasoline vehicles, which benefited from Henry Ford‘s advances in mass production.
Decline of Electric Vehicles
By the 1920s, gasoline cars had improved to become more convenient and affordable than electric cars, which led to a gradual decline in their use. The invention of the electric starter for gasoline vehicles in 1912 meant drivers no longer needed to use a hand crank to start the engine, removing one of the key advantages of electric cars.
The rapid expansion of the US highway system and discovery of cheap Texas crude oil made gas cars more attractive. By 1935, electric vehicles had all but disappeared. Even the once popular electric taxis in New York City were phased out, with the last one retiring in 1941.
Electric Vehicle Revival in the 1970s
Interest in electric cars was revived in the 1960s and 1970s as concern grew over the environmental impact of gasoline vehicles and oil dependency, heightened by the 1973 Arab oil embargo. Many began to look for alternatives.
In the early 1970s, the price of crude oil rose from $3 per barrel to nearly $12 globally, and with $25 in the US, adding to the attraction of electric vehicles. NASA helped raise the profile of the technology, when their electric Lunar rover became the first manned vehicle to drive on the moon in 1971.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the California Air Resources Board began pushing for more fuel-efficient, lower-emissions vehicles, due to growing concerns over urban air pollution and smog. This led to the revival of interest in electric vehicles from automakers.
The Modern Electric Vehicle Era
In the 1990s, new chemistries for batteries started to appear. Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries offered higher energy density compared to lead-acid batteries, which allowed the first production electric vehicles to be produced by major manufacturers.
GM released the EV1 in 1996, the first purpose-built electric car produced by a major automaker in the modern era. The EV1 used a lead-acid battery pack, later replaced with a NiMH pack, giving it a range of 160 miles. Other automakers like Honda and Toyota also experimented with electric vehicles in the 1990s using NiMH batteries.
However, the EV1 and other electric vehicles of this era ultimately failed to gain widespread adoption. The automakers determined the technology was not yet cost-effective or profitable compared to gasoline cars. Most of the EV1s were famously recalled and crushed by GM in the early 2000s, a story told in the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
Lithium-ion Batteries Bring a Breakthrough
The modern electric vehicle era really took off with the development of lithium-ion batteries. First invented in the 1970s and commercialized for consumer electronics in 1991, lithium-ion batteries have a much higher energy density compared to lead-acid and NiMH batteries, enabling longer driving ranges in lighter weight packages.
In the 2000s, startups Tesla Motors and Venturi Automobiles saw opportunity in using lithium-ion batteries to create high-performance electric sports cars. The Tesla Roadster, first delivered in 2008, was the first highway legal serial production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production all-electric car to travel more than 200 miles per charge.
Mainstream automakers soon followed suit. The Nissan Leaf, introduced in 2010, became the world‘s all-time top selling highway-capable all-electric car by 2020. GM released the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid in 2010, followed by the all-electric Bolt in 2017, the first affordable electric car with over 200 miles of range.
A Bright Future for Electric Vehicles
In the 2020s, electric vehicles are entering the mainstream and increasingly posing a serious challenge to gasoline vehicles. Spurred by advances in lithium-ion battery technology and more affordable costs, electric cars are rapidly gaining global market share.
According to the International Energy Agency, electric car sales achieved a record share of 9% of the global car market in 2021, and more than doubled to 6.6 million units that year from 3 million in 2020. Many industry analysts project that trend will only accelerate, with electric cars expected to make up over half of US and European car sales by 2030. Governments around the world have set targets to ban the sale of new gasoline cars in the coming decades to combat climate change.
Nearly every major automaker now has electric vehicles in their lineup, from mass-market models like the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf, to luxury and performance cars like the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT, and Tesla Model S Plaid. Exciting new electric trucks and SUVs like the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV are also hitting the market.
It has been a long journey for electric vehicle technology, from the early pioneers of the 1800s, to the niche status of the 20th century, and finally to the increasingly dominant position of today. Environmental concerns, government policies, and rapid technological progress are all aligning to make electric cars the default choice for drivers in the coming decades. The gasoline engine‘s days are likely numbered as electric vehicles increasingly become the cleaner, better performing, and more affordable option.
As battery technology continues to improve at a rapid pace, the cost and range of electric vehicles will only get better. We may soon see EVs with 500 or even 1,000 miles of range, and cheaper than gasoline vehicles to buy and operate. The future of transportation is undoubtedly electric.
