A brief history of electric cars

While many people believe that electric cars are a fairly new invention, the electric vehicle, or EV, has been around for nearly two centuries. The first EV dates back to the 1830s. Several different models were built in Europe and America. Various versions were created as batteries were improved. In the late 1880s, the UK and France supported a major development of electric vehicles. Camille Jenatzy from Belgium invented the fastest EV, which had a speed of 100 km per hour. Switzerland, which lacked the natural fossil resources of other nations, also supported the electrification of its rail system, reducing its dependence on foreign resources and helping to further advance the technology.

In the United States, the first electric car was not developed until the end of the 19th century. The first featured electric vehicle was a six-passenger wagon. William Morrison and AL Ryker designed this vehicle and it is considered to be the first practical electric vehicle. Innovations in electric cars increased rapidly in the early 20th century. By the turn of the century, America was fairly prosperous, and automobiles of all kinds were becoming much more popular. The first hybrid electric motor/combustion engine was made in 1916. These vehicles had an advantage over their competitors for several reasons. They were less noisy and did not have the smell and vibration associated with gar-powered vehicles.

Electric vehicles were quite successful in the United States during the 1920s. However, by the late 1920s and early 1930s, gasoline had begun to dominate the market. With the discovery of crude oil in Oklahoma and Texas and the development of improved road infrastructure in the United States, gasoline-powered cars became much more affordable and popular. They could also now travel much farther and faster than their competitors. By the end of the 1930s, American electric cars had all but disappeared.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the notion of alternative fuel vehicles and independence from foreign oil became more widely known, but not much was available on the market until the 1990s. With the passage of clean air legislation by part of the US government, some of the major automakers began announcing that they would be introducing some electric models to their lineup. Since the early 2000s, interest in electric and hybrid cars has increased. Automakers have been slowly moving away from fuel-efficient vehicles.

Since the late 2000s, more manufacturers have been introducing fully electric cars. Due to the rising cost of gasoline and the growing awareness of the importance of environmental awareness, EVs have become much more popular and are likely to become even more so in the near future.