The beginning

In the mid and late 1800s, electric propulsion was preferred in automobiles because of  the easier operation and the absence of dirty air, oil and noise. You don't have to crank the car or shift gears. Same as with a steamer.

It is unclear who invented the first EV. In 1828 Hungarian Anyos Jedlik invented a small electric motor. He places this in a small scale model of a car. Sometime between 1832 and 1839, Scotsman Robert Anderson invented a primitive electric vehicle. In 1835 a small electric car designed by him was built by the Groningen professor Stratingh together with   his assistant Cristopher Becker, Thomas Davenport also built one in 1835. However, he did not get any investors. His cart was too weak for the weight of his own batteries. The fact that they were disposable batteries didn't help either.  He also invented the first American DC motor. This one is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

Better Batteries  

More practical and successful electric cars became  Invented around 1842 by Thomas Davenport and Robert Davidson. They were one of the first to use the new non-rechargeable electric cell, or the battery. In 1854 find  Wilhelm Sinsteden the rechargeable lead sulfer battery and the lead oxide battery  from. Frenchman Gaston Planté  found a better rechargeable lead  battery in 1865 which compatriot Camille Faure further improved in 1881 by applying lead oxide paste to the plates. This invention is also being made in America at that time by Charles Brush. This was also badly needed to make electric cars more practical. This technique ensured that the batteries had 3x as much capacity. The Electric Storage Battery Company bought its patent. General Electric bought the patents for the alternator, motor,  distribution devices and the Swan light bulb. Brush started Cleveland, Ohio's electrical history with the introduction of the first streetlights.

In 1867, during the World Exhibition in Paris, an electric bicycle is presented by the Austrian inventor Franz Kravogl. In 1881 Gustave Trouvé demonstrates a working  tricycle vehicle at the International Exhibition of Electricity in Paris. Around that time he also sails on  the Seine with a boat with an electric outboard motor. Around 1890, 100 units are already sailing in Europe. In 1881, Charles Jeantaud, with the help of Camille Faure, built an electric vehicle, a buggy with a Gramme motor and a Fulmen battery (Faure's patent). In England William Ayrton and John Perry build an electric wheelchair with lighting and 10 Planté batteries with a total of 1/2 hp. Thomas Parker claims to have built a working electric vehicle in 1884 and Andreas Flocken makes the first 4 wheel electric vehicle in 1888.

Charles Jeantaud set the first speed record on December 18, 1898 with a vehicle of 39.24 miles per hour with at the wheel of his vehicle Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat (son of a minister of the cabinet of Napoleon). His brother founded the Automobile Club de France in 1895. At the end of the 19th century, France and Britain were the first countries to develop electric cars on a large scale. The Germans Daimler and Benz may have built the first really useful cars, but it was the French who held the first races and started the automobile competitions. He did not hold this record for long, just days later, on January 17, 1899, Camille Jenatzy drove a CGA Dogcart with an 80 cell Fulmen lead battery for a time of 41,420 miles per hour. Count Gaston drove a new one later that day  record with his Jeantaud by a speed  down from 43.6 miles per hour. Because the batteries were completely used up, both stopped fighting for that day. A few days later, both set new records. on April 29  1899 the Belgian Camille Jenatzy set his new  race car called the 'La Jamais Contente' (the never satisfied)  again  a world record on land of 105.88 km/h.  The vehicle did this with 2 25 kW motors and a total of 68 hp. The Count did not run again and the record would stand until the crazy mind of a sewing machine manufacturer decided that it could go faster.  

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Krieger started producing electric vehicles in 1894. The Landaulet of that time and electric drive in each front wheel with a second set of parallel windings for regenerative braking. Lost braking energy  was thus stored in a battery. In 1903 Krieger had a hybrid model that even had power steering.

American designs

It wasn't until around 1895 that Americans got serious about electric vehicles. In 1887, William Morrison builds a front-wheel drive six-passenger vehicle that rides in a parade in Des Moines in 1888. He asks  patented in 1890. In 1891 he builds a 4 hp 12 person vehicle with a range of 50 miles. Morrison's vehicle is often seen as the first real and practical EV, although he was more concerned with the battery techniques.  In 1888  directs Andrew L  Riker set up his Riker Electric Vehicle Company and built it in 1895  his first  electric trike.  Yet become  mr. Pratt is seen as the father of the American electric car. On July 27, 1888, he presents his Fred M. Kimball Company-built tricycle to Boston magazine Modern Light and Heat. In 1894 the Electrobat came on the market, it was fairly successful with  are steel wheels (due to the high weight of the vehicle) and springs at the rear wheels. In 1895, the Electrobat and the Morrison lose the first American car race in Chicago. Due to the cold weather, the batteries have too low a capacity. The Duryea  Brothers win along with some German Benz-based cars. In 1896, the Electrobat and a Riker vehicle again participate in a series of 5 mile races. Now they beat the Duryea Brothers because of the good weather.

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Morris and Salom build in 1895 and 1896 based on their  Electrobat new models  with pneumatic tires and steering on the rear axle. Due to the high costs and the variable reliability, they think it is better to use the vehicles for fleet use than for individual ownership. They want to use these Hansom cabs in the major American cities  and found the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, America's first true electric car manufacturer. In 1897 the first two are deployed in New York. Due to problems with the permits, they will only have 12 Hanson cabs and one Brougham Coupé in use from March. The money comes from Isaac L. Rice (Electric Storage Battery). This company was founded to provide battery packs for areas where trolleys cannot be used. They are also used as backup for power points and lighting. In September, Isaac Rice takes over the New York Cab Company as the Electric Vehicle Company.

The men receive a Philadelphia Scott medal in 1897. This was given to those who contribute to the development of humanity.  

  In 1899, Ferdinand Porsche designs electric and hybrid vehicles for the Austrian firm Lohner & Co. The engines were in each drive wheel, making it the first front-wheel drive car. The second car was a hybrid with all four wheels. The car could drive 40 miles on the battery! Because the first vehicle already had a battery pack that weighed 1,000 kg, Porsche added 2 generators that were powered by a Daimler petrol engine. Porsche called this 'mixed' propulsion. In 1900 this resulted in a few front-wheel drives and 1 four-wheel drive vehicle. More were built in the following years and in 1906 the design was sold to Austro-Daimler who built several four-wheel drive hub motor commercial vehicles.

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Walter Baker also founds the Baker Motor Vehicle Company in Cleveland, Ohio. At that time the second car city in America after Detroit. They are known for many inventions such as the first drive shaft, the first use of light metal, the first full floating ball bearings and the first application of aerodynamics. Thomas Edison buys the 2nd Baker made despite not driving. Baker works with the White family who together are already known for their sewing machines and ball bearings (Baker also started the American Ball Bearing Company). That same year, Clinton Woods, an engineer, left the Electric Vehicle Company to start his own company, the Woods Motor Vehicle Company. Woods is one of the pioneers along with Columbia, Baker and Waverley and they have had electric vehicles on the road since 1898. They are not known for innovations except for one hybrid truck, they are the last to move away from solid rubber tires and chain drive. In 1900 the Studebaker brothers also started building a lightweight electric vehicle, but after 6 years they switched to the production of petrol engines. In 1901, the Pan-American Exposition was held from May 1 to November 1. The market was lit by electricity generated by Niagara Falls. The same year, President McKinley was shot and taken to the hospital in a Riker electric ambulance. Both did not make it to the end of the year. Thomas Edison patented the nickel iron battery but it was not good enough. Peter Hewitt patents the Mercury vapor rectifier that makes the conversion of alternating current to direct current, which is needed to charge batteries, cheaper and more efficient.

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The bicycle, and later also the car pioneer, Colonel Albert A. Pope grew up with his bicycles. In 1899, he merged Columbia and Hartford bicycles with 45 other bicycle manufacturers to counter the declining bicycle market through economies of scale. He does this through capitalization of $80 million. All this under the name American Bicycle Co. However, Pope also wants to conquer a part of the car market and has his Motor Carriage Department for this purpose, for which he hired Hiram Percy in 1895.  Maxim puts on. The man who moved the controls of the car from the left to the right. Maxim had already been to the Pope factories and had made his own design for an engine on a Pope tricycle. Pope was impressed. Sidenote: Maxim's father was the inventor of the first automatic rifle." Pope wants to make electric vehicles, but Maxim initially comes with a petrol vehicle. In 1897 he finally introduces an electric vehicle, the Columbia. The company is sold to the EVC in 1987. Pope chairs the board of directors for the EVC, Columbia Automobile and the Columbia and EVC. Total value of these companies is well over $80 million. Pope founds the International Motor Car Co. in 1901 with people from  the American Bicycle Co. in 1903 the name is changed to Pope Motor Car Co. In 1902 Pope resigned as a board member of the American Bicycle Co. Six months later, he returns with help from John D. Rockefeller. All to no avail, the company goes bankrupt in 1902/1903. As a result, in 1903 the Pope Motor Car Co. merged with the remnants of the American Bicycle Co. to the Pope Mfg. Co. to establish. Until 1914 cars are made in 4 different locations. 1 of the locations builds the Pope-Waverley until 1907.  Pope himself died in 1909. In 1909 a moratorium has to be applied for. People still keep their heads above water and even produce bicycles and motorcycles again, at the end of 1914 Pope Mfg. Still bankrupt.

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In 1900, the Electric Vehicle Company made a lot of money from stocks and is still anticipating growth in the electric vehicle market. They buy The Electric Carriage & Wagon Company (from Morris and Salom) in 1897 to expand the taxi fleet to all major cities, the Columbia Motor-Carriage in April 1899 from Pope Manufacturing including the factories and all  assets for $3 million and start the Columbia Automobile Co.  A month later they buy the complete production of the Pope factories for $5 million and call it the Columbia and Electric Vehicle Co. In June, the EVC and Columbia EVC are merged and Pop is bought out. In November, the rights to the Selden patent are bought. George Selden sells it to William C. Whitney to team up to earn royalties. The EVC buys the patent  with the idea so legal  the Columbia Automobile Co. to be able to focus. Within a year, however, Columbia had financial problems due to corruption and low sales of electric vehicles. The EVC therefore switched to the Selden patent in order to get money. They set the royalty percentage at 5. Around 1900 there were several lawsuits against car manufacturers. Their main target of Alexander Winton with his Winton Motor Carriage Company. He was America's greatest prucent at the time. In order to gain some foothold, they wanted to persuade the largest party to pay. During this lawsuit in which Winton was already about to settle down, the Manufacturers Mutual Association was founded by Joy and Smith of Packard and Olds. These two entrepreneurs used their position to challenge the patent. They wanted a lower royalty percentage and they wanted all legal matters and rights to be handled by the MMA.  This is how it happened. In 1903, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers was first established, which  a month the name was changed to  founded the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers as a successor to the MMA and the ECV had a large finger in the pie. The royalty percentage was set at 1.25. Becoming a member was only possible if all 5 members agreed. Winton soon became a member and the lawsuit was settled. The patent was now recognized with no validity ever established. At that time, a lawsuit was pending against Ford. He refused to pay royalties to the EVC for the Selden patent. At first he wanted to pay but because his previous companies were not profitable, he was rejected. When it became clear that his new company was profitable, a lawsuit was started against him on October 22, 1903. Largely fueled by Olds, one of the 5 members. After all, he suffered the most from Ford as a competitor in Detroit. the ALAM  also threatened Ford buyers  by also wanting to summon them to justice. Ford indicated that the automobile would have been just as developed if the patent had not existed. He preferred to pay $6.80  per car to sue over $12.50 in royalties.  On September 15, 1909, the judge ruled that the Selden patent was valid. The Supreme Court later overturned this. The ALAM lost  this case in 1911. The patent expired a year later. Because the business ran for so long, royalties were simply collected. $5.8 million while the case $  had cost 1.5 million.

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The ECV also purchases New Haven Carriage, Riker Electric Vehicle and Siemens-Halske and adds them all to the Electric Vehicle Company. This firm is now controlled by a New York/Philapdelphia holding company known as the lead cab trust. They provide vehicles for the New York City Taxi Company and other major taxi companies, among others. The Electric Storage Battery Company (later ESB Exide), which also belongs to the same group of investors,  supplies the batteries. The goal was a fleet of 12,000 vehicles and raising capital of $200 million. The game was about turning the majority shareholder of the original company into a minority shareholder. The holding company's game is to obtain monopolies in the industry sector and is based on patent consolidation and exclusive franchises. In 1902 it almost goes wrong when it turns out that people are better at selling companies than taxis. The project is not ongoing except in New York. The used batteries are also greatly exhausted by frequent replacement. The exchange took place in a converted Ice Arena. Due to their technical problems and financial tricks, it is not possible to bring in the required $200 million. Since 1899, no dividend has been paid. Disclosures of tax manipulation and a loan to an employee for $2 million didn't help either.

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In 1905, all American manufacturers together produced 1,200 electric vehicles. In 1907 there was a recession and panic among the banks. Several individuals and their practices within the lead cab holding were involved in causing this  panic in the banks leading to the collapse of many major banks and a liquidity freeze as a result. As a result,  many companies go bankrupt. Although the EVC earned about $200,000 a year in royalties for the Selden patent and vehicle sales, they were unable to refinance $2,500,000 in bond payouts and went into receivership. The total share package was worth $20 million. On the  at the time of the bankruptcy of the EVC, there were 616 taxis and buses  in the New York fleet. However, petrol taxis were introduced in 1908 and in 1910 the electric taxis were withdrawn. After the bankruptcy of the EVC, the company continued as Columbia Motor Car Co. which was taken over in 1910 by United States Motor Co. that went bankrupt again in 1912. The recession meant that Henry Ford only wanted to make one cheap simple model for a low price. In 2011, an 1899 Columbia Electric Landaulet was auctioned for the record $550,000.  

The Anderson Carriage Company starts in 1895  and changes its name to Anderson Electric Car Co. in 1911.  Many vehicles are made with their own design. Front or rear steering for self-drive or with a driver, luxurious interiors and curved glass. aluminum was even used. These Detroit Electrics were loved, especially by women. Before Henry Ford started production of the T, he bought a Detroit Electric for his wife Clara. This one even had a child seat for their son Edsel. They bought a new Detroit Electric every year through 1914. The women of Marmon, Olds, Packard and Stutz also had a Detroit Electric. In 1915, the Milburn Wagon Company was the last major manufacturer to enter the market. In 1916, the ailing Woods Motor Vehicle Company introduced the Woods Dual Power to help its company get back on its feet. This is the  most serious attempt at building a hybrid vehicle in America to date. In Europe there had been hybrids from Krieger and Porsche a few years earlier. The Dual Power could run separately or in combination on the power sources. If the vehicle only ran on the fuel engine, the electric motor became a dynamo that could recharge the batteries. Regenerative braking was also provided. The first type reached a top speed of 20 mph on the batteries or 35 mph combined and had a consumption of 48 mpg! The price was $2,650.  Converted $57,000  (2017). The updated model in June 1917 got  a more powerful engine, a rear-view mirror, wooden wire wheels and a rain cover (there were no wipers yet). January 23, 1919 meld  the magazine 'Motor Age' that the company has stopped.  

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Many innovations followed and the interest in motor vehicles increased enormously at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. Only Detroit Electric, Milburn and Rauch & Lang survive the First World War. However, their sales were just a drop in the ocean.

Big interest

At the turn of the century, America was prosperous and cars,  now available in  steam, electric and petrol versions are becoming increasingly popular. 1899 and 1900 were the heyday of the EV and it outsold the other types. One example is the 1902 Phaeton of the Woods Motor Vehicle Company of Chicago. It had a range of 18 miles and a top speed of 14 miles for a price of $2,000. In 1911  they even invented a hybrid, which was equipped with a combustion engine and an electric motor, but was difficult to maintain.

EVs had many advantages, they didn't have the vibrations, stench and noise of petrol cars. Shifting was the biggest problem with petrol cars, EVs and steam cars  needed  not that. They suffered from a slow start-up time of up to 45 minutes when it was cold. The only good roads were  often in the village so most of the rides were local, handy for EVs. It was the type  car that was preferred, also because of the lack of a hand crank for starting. They were often advertised as ideal cars for women.

Although the basic EV cost under $1,000, most were designed for the upper class. They had beautiful interiors with expensive materials and cost around 1910  $3,000 on average. Their success lasted into the 1920s with  their peak in 1912 when most American homes had power.   

Battery change service

To solve the problem of the small range and also the lack of a charging infrastructure, a battery exchange service was proposed as early as 1896. The concept was first put into practice by  the Hartford Electric Light Company in the form of the GeVeCo battery service that was initially only available for trucks. The car was purchased from the General Vehicle Company (part of the General Electric Company) without batteries and the electricity was purchased from Hartford Electric using a replaceable battery. The owner pays a variable 'per-mile' fee and a monthly premium.  Both the vehicle and the battery were adapted for a quick battery change. The service was offered from 1910 to 1924. In Chicago from 1917 a similar successful service was also started for the Milburn Light Electric car.

The demise of the EV

Around the 1920s there was a better road system that now connected the cities, which increased the demand for cars with a longer range. The discovery of oil in Texas made gasoline cheaper, making it accessible to the average consumer. With the invention of the electric starter motor by Charles Kettering, the disadvantage of the hand crank was also history. Noise was reduced by the muffler, invented by Hiram Percy Maxim in 1897.  Henry Ford's mass production also made internal combustion engine cars a lot more accessible, priced from $500 to $500  $1,000. The prices of electric cars even rose. In 1912, an electric Roadster cost $1,750 and a gasoline version $650. By 1935, EVs had all but disappeared. Until the 1960s, nothing more happened around the development of the EV.

EVs again

The 1960s and 1970s saw an increasing demand for fuel-efficient cars and cars with a different fuel.  On the one hand because of the emissions and on the other hand they wanted to be less dependent on foreign oil. Many attempts to build practical EVs followed.  

The Battronic Truck Company

In 1964, the first Battronic electric truck was delivered to the Potomac Edison Company. It had a top speed of 25 mph, a range of 62 miles and a payload of 1,250 kg. They collaborated with General Electric from 1973 to 1983 and produced 175 delivery vans, demonstrating that they were usable. 20 passenger buses were also built.

city cars

Two companies were market leaders during this period. Sebring-Vanguard produced over 2,000 CitiCars. These had a top speed of 44 mph, a cruising speed of 38 mph and a range of 50 to 60 miles. The other firm was Elcar. It had a top speed and range of 40 miles. Heating and defrosting was accomplished by a gas heater and the charging time was 10  o'clock.