From the first e-car to the present day: The history of the electric car
Is electromobility a development of the 21st century? Probably more of a rediscovered drive that has been taken to a new level with modern technology. There was already a boom in electric cars at the end of the 19th century, and the first electric car manufactured in Germany made the roads unsafe. Join us on a little journey through time and immerse yourself in the exciting history of electric cars.
At the beginning of the 20th century, electromobility played a leading role, as the number of electrically powered vehicles was almost twice as high as that with combustion engines. In the Roaring Twenties, however, electric cars were pushed to the brink of insignificance. Nowadays, increasing environmental awareness is leading to a renewed upswing in e-cars – and continues their history spectacularly.
The first boom in e-cars (1881 to 1920)
The fact that electric cars seem so new to many is due to the fact that they led a niche existence for most of the 20th century. In fact, however, the first cars to drive on European and US roads were already electrically powered. The invention of the DC motor by Thomas Davenport made it possible for the first electrically powered tricycle to be presented in Paris in 1881 – and from then on everything took its course.
The history of e-cars begins with Gustave Trouvé. The French inventor is considered a decisive pioneer, his Trouvé Tricycle as the world's first real electric vehicle. Even in the past, vehicles with electric drives were tinkered with, such as the Scotsman Robert Anderson. In 1835 (some sources also say 1839) he presented a prototype that used a disposable battery powered by crude oil and managed 12 kilometers per hour. \
But Trouvé only really made his breakthrough when he was able to present his electric tricycle (this time also with a rechargeable lead battery!) at the International Electricity Exhibition in Paris. The vehicle set the direction of attack. Other inventors such as the English professors William Edward Ayrton and John Perry or their compatriot Magnus Volk also used electric motors and batteries to power three-wheeled carriages.
In 1888, the machine manufacturer Andreas Flocken built the first electric car in Germany, the "Flocken Electric Car" now ran on four wheels. At the same time, a comparable innovation was emerging in Russia: engineers Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov and Ippolit Vladimirovich Romanov presented their electrically powered passenger car – another candidate for the world's first "real" electric car.
The Flocken electric car was the first electric car to be manufactured in Germany in 1888. © Franz Haag / CC BY-SA 3.0
In the United States, inventors such as William Morrison, Henry G. Morris and Thomas Parker also presented functional e-car models. Morrison's vehicle was based on a horse-drawn carriage that could carry up to 12 people and still manage 32 kilometers per hour – a forerunner of today's minibuses with electric motors.
Commercial production began on the other side of the Atlantic in 1897 and by 1912 the e-car market in the United States had experienced a real boom. Around 34,000 electric vehicles with ranges of 100 kilometers and more were registered, accounting for 38 percent of vehicles on American roads. In comparison, only 22 percent of the cars had a gasoline engine. The biggest competitor of the e-cars of the time was actually steam vehicles, which dominated the majority of road traffic at 40 percent.
Berlin as the center of electric vehicle production
Did you know that at the beginning of the twentieth century, Berlin was the center of electric vehicle production in Germany? The capital was also known as the "electropolis". Atthat time, around 100 car manufacturers were based in the city. These included well-known names such as AEG, Siemens, Kliemt, NAG and Slaby-Beringer, most of whom also manufactured electric vehicles in a wide variety of sizes. There are over 565 different brands of e-vehicles worldwide.
The first car ever to reach 100 km/h was also a car with an electric motor in 1899. However, the electric racing car "Jamais Contente" deviated from the usual carriage shape until then: the driver sat in a torpedo-shaped single-seater. That The first hybrid vehicle was also not long in coming and was developed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1900. Even interchangeable battery models were developed that allowed immediate continuation of driving without a long charging break – a principle that NIO is currently taking up again. Until about 1920, the electric car was a serious competitor for vehicles with combustion engines.
Electric cars in the niche (1920 to 1990)
The fact that combustion engines ultimately became more popular than e-cars was due to an electrical invention, of all things. In 1911, the electric starter for gasoline cars was introduced. This eliminated the annoying cranking without being able to start combustion engines until now. But that was not the only reason why more and more people decided against an electric car: gasoline engines became cheaper and cheaper (Henry Ford sends his regards) and simply had the significantly higher range at the time.Because oil was also becoming cheaper and cheaper and gas stations were springing up everywhere.
With the oil boom, gas stations sprang up everywhere – the cheap fuel and the high availability of gasoline and diesel sealed the end of the e-car for the time being.
Even though sales of electric cars declined from 1912 onwards, and combustion engines increasingly dominated the roads from the 1920s onwards, electric vehicles were never really gone. However, the focus was mainly on the use of small commercial vehicles: Whether in the milk delivery service in Great Britain and the United States, as industrial vehicles in warehouses and halls or the small van in market halls – there was always one or the other place of use for the electric cars.
Swiss Post in particular was keen to experiment. This was quite a tradition, as Swiss Post already owned an immensely large fleet of electric vans in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1950s, both the Federal Post Office and the GDR Post Office tinkered with delivery vehicles. However, developments on both sides of the Iron Curtain came to an end at the end of the decade, due to "economic considerations", as it was said in unison.
Isolated attempts to revive the technology for private drivers were largely unsuccessful. One example of this is the world's first car-sharing project, which was launched in Amsterdam in the 1970s and used only electric cars. However, this project was discontinued in 1988.
The return of e-cars (1990 to 2006)
In the 1990s, e-cars slowly became interesting for the road again. In the meantime, technology had improved and greater environmental awareness promoted interest in alternatives to gasoline and diesel engines. The changed legislation in California, initiated by the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) zero-emission program, gave a new boost to the electric car industry in the United States. However, the first models with electric drive were not able to celebrate great success.
Between 1992 and 1996, VW tried to establish an electric car with the Golf Citystromer. But after the production of 120 units, which were only used in the fleets of energy suppliers, the project failed due to low demand. General Motors made a similar attempt with the EV1 from 1996 to 1999, with 1,117 vehicles being launched. Selected customers had the opportunity to lease them. Due to a lack of spare parts, GM recalled the vehicles after three years and scrapped them.
The Toyota Prius with its hybrid drive, which was first presented in 1997, was the most well received.Despite these setbacks, automakers around the world intensified their efforts to produce electric cars in larger numbers. One trigger for this change of direction may have been the oil crisis triggered by the Gulf War in the 1990s. Growing environmental awareness also led to a rethink and an intensified search for alternatives to the classic combustion engine.
The second boom of e-cars (since 2006)
Electric vehicles only became really interesting again with the Tesla Roadster, which was launched in 2006. It was particularly exciting for drivers because it was equipped with technology that made it possible to drive long distances.
Tesla's Roadster, built from 2006 onwards, freed electric cars from their hitherto somewhat conservative image.
Speaking of Tesla: The US manufacturer probably has the merit of almost single-handedly helping the electric car to regain a "cool" image. Since the introduction of the Tesla Model S in 2012, electric cars have been able to compete with gasoline and diesel cars in all technical respects without any problems. The Tesla Model 3 was the first electric car that was able to really conquer the mass market. And with the Model Y, Tesla delivered a real sales hit, whose sales figures even left undisputed combustion stars such as the Toyota Corolla behind.
Although some electric cars are even more expensive, prices are expected to fall in the future. Due to legal requirements, almost all traditional manufacturers have included electric cars in their strategy. Models such as the ID.3 and ID.4 have not yet achieved the frequently invoked status of a "Golf of the electric age", but have been able to successfully establish themselves on the market. In addition, there are start-ups and small manufacturers that have dedicated themselves exclusively to electromobility. More and more Chinese manufacturers are also pushing into Europe.
What electric cars can do nowadays is also shown by the annual competitions in the Formula E racing series.
Today, every major car manufacturer is pursuing its own electric mobility strategy. It is clear that the electric cars are now established and have become an integral part of the cityscape. Especially since the Corona crisis, the industry has experienced a new boom, although demand has recently weakened somewhat. And the charging infrastructure, both public charging points and private wallboxes, is also growing inexorably. Last but not least, the competitions in the Formula E racing series show what electric cars can do today.