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An electric car is an alternative fuel car that uses electric motors and motor controllers instead of an internal combustion engine (ICE). Currently, in most cases, electrical power is derived from battery packs carried on board the vehicle. Other energy storage methods that may come into use in the future include the use of ultracapacitors, or storage of energy in a spinning flywheel.
The term electric vehicle is often used, implying, in context, an electric road vehicle, though in its broader sense it covers all vehicles with electrical propulsion including trains and trams.
Vehicles that make use of both electric motors and other types of engine are known as hybrid electric vehicles and are not considered pure electric vehicles (EVs) because they operate in a charge-sustaining mode. Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be charged externally from an external source are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and become pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) during their charge-depleting mode. Other types of electric vehicles besides cars include light trucks and neighborhood electric vehicles.
History
Main article: History of the electric vehicle1830s to 1900s: Early history
The design of the electric car is one of the oldest for automobiles — small electric vehicles predate the Otto cycle upon which Diesel (diesel engine) and Benz (gasoline engine) based the automobile. Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Scottish businessman Robert Anderson invented the first crude electric carriage. Professor Sibrandus Stratingh of Groningen, the Netherlands, designed the small-scale electric car, built by his assistant Christopher Becker in 1835.
Practical and more successful electric road vehicles were invented by both Thomas Davenport, an American, and Robert Davidson, a Scotsman, in 1842. Both inventors were the first to use non-rechargeable electric cells.
Gaston Plante invented a better storage battery in France in 1865, and his fellow countryman Camille Faure improved the storage battery in 1881. This improved-capacity storage battery paved the way for electric vehicles to flourish. An electric-powered two-wheel cycle was put on display at the World Exhibition 1867 in Paris by the Austrian inventor Franz Kravogl.
France and Great Britain were the first nations to support the widespread development of electric vehicles. In November 1881 French inventor Gustave Trouvé demonstrated a working three-wheeled automobile at the International Exhibition of Electricity in Paris. Thomas Parker claimed to have built a working electric car by 1884
Before the pre-eminence of internal combustion engines, electric automobiles held many speed and distance records. Among the most notable of these records was the breaking of the 100 km/h (62 mph) speed barrier, by Camille Jenatzy on April 29, 1899 in his 'rocket-shaped' vehicle Jamais Contente, which reached a top speed of 105.88 km/h (65.79 mph).
It was not until 1895 that Americans began to devote attention to electric vehicles after an electric tricycle was built by A. L. Ryker and William Morrison built a six-passenger wagon both in 1891. Many innovations followed and interest in motor vehicles increased greatly in the late 1890s and early 1900s. In 1897, the first commercial application was established as a fleet of New York City taxis built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia. Electric cars, produced in the US by Anthony Electric, Baker, Detroit Electric (Anderson Electric Car Company), Edison, Studebaker, and others during the early 20th century for a time out-sold gasoline-powered vehicles.
These vehicles were successfully sold as city cars to upper-class customers and were often marketed as suitable vehicles for women drivers due to their clean, quiet and easy operation. Due to technological limitations and the lack of transistor-based electric technology, the top speed of these early electric vehicles was limited to about 32 km/h (20 mph).
By the turn of the century, America was prosperous, and cars, now available in steam, electric, or gasoline versions, were becoming more popular. The years 1899 and 1900 were the high point of electric cars in America, as they outsold all other types of cars. Electric vehicles had many advantages over their competitors in the early 1900s. They did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars. Changing gears on gasoline cars was the most difficult part of driving, and electric vehicles did not require gear changes.
While steam-powered cars also had no gear shifting, they suffered from long start-up times of up to 45 minutes on cold mornings. The steam cars had less range before needing water than an electric car's range on a single charge. The only good roads of the period were in town, causing most travel to be local commuting - a perfect situation for electric vehicles, since their range was limited.
The electric vehicle was the preferred choice of many because it did not require the manual effort to start, as with the hand crank on gasoline vehicles, and there was no wrestling with a gear shifter. While basic electric cars cost under $1,000, most early electric vehicles were ornate, massive carriages designed for the upper class. They had fancy interiors, with expensive materials, and averaged $3,000 by 1910. Electric vehicles enjoyed success into the 1920s with production peaking in 1912.
1920s to 1980s: Oil dominates
The decline of the electric vehicle was brought about by several major developments:
- By the 1920s, America had a better system of roads that now connected cities, bringing with it the need for longer-range vehicles.
- The discovery of Texas crude oil reduced the price of gasoline so that it was affordable to the average consumer.
- The invention of the electric starter by Charles Kettering in 1912 eliminated the need for the hand crank.
- The initiation of mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford made these vehicles widely available and affordable in the $500 to $1,000 price range. By contrast, the price of the less efficiently produced electric vehicles continued to rise. In 1912, an electric roadster sold for $1,750, while a gasoline car sold for $650.
Electric vehicles became popular for some limited range applications. Forklift trucks were EVs when they were introduced in 1923 by Yale ; many battery electric forklifts are still produced. In Europe, especially the United Kingdom, milk floats were common EVs, though they are less so now as distances on delivery rounds have grown. Electric golf carts have been available for many years, including early models by Lektro in 1954. Their popularity led to their use as neighborhood electric vehicles; larger versions are becoming popular and increasingly ruled "street legal".
By the late 1930s, the electric automobile industry had completely disappeared, with battery-electric traction being limited to niche applications, such as certain industrial vehicles. A thorough examination into the social and technological reasons for the failure of electric cars is to be found in Taking Charge: The Electric Automobile in America
Battery powered electric concept cars continued to appear, such as the Scottish Aviation Scamp (1965), the Enfield 8000 (1966) and the General Motors "Electrovair" (1966) and "Electrovette" (1976).
1990s to present: Revival of mass interest
At the 1990 Los Angeles Auto Show, GM President Roger Smith unveiled the "Impact" electric car, the precursor to the EV1, promising that GM would build electric cars for the public.
In the early 1990s, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) began to push for more fuel efficient vehicles, with the end-goal being a shift to more zero-emissions vehicles. In response, makers developed EVs including the Chrysler TEVan, Ford Ranger EV pickup truck, GM EV1 and S10 EV pickup, Honda EV Plus hatchback, Nissan lithium-battery Altra EV miniwagon and Toyota RAV4 EV. Automakers refused to properly promote or sell their EVs, allowed consumers to drive them only by closed-end lease and, along with oil groups, fought the mandate vigorously. Chrysler, Toyota and some GM dealers sued in Federal court; California soon neutered its ZEV Mandate. After public protests by EV drivers' groups upset by the repossession of their EVs, Toyota offered the last 328 RAV4-EVs for sale to the general public during six months (ending on November 22, 2002).
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