How the electrical car became the future of transportation
Tesla CEO Elon Musk demonstrates the falcon wing doors on the fresh Tesla Model X Crossover SUV during a launch event on September 29, two thousand fifteen in Fremont, California. After several production delays, Elon Musk officially launched the much anticipated Tesla Model X Crossover SUV. Justin Sullivan/Getty Pictures
The potential of electrical cars is greaterВ now than ever before.
Traditional automakers including General Motors, Volkswagen, Daimler AG, and others are all investing powerfully in electrified vehicles. And Tesla, of course, has built anВ entire business onВ battery-powered cars.
But electrified automobiles are nothing fresh. They actually have a rich history in the US and, at one point, were even the superior type of car.
Here’s a look at how battery-powered cars evolved over time.
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The electrified car burst onto the scene in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In one thousand eight hundred ninety nine and 1900, electrical vehicles outsold all other types of cars. In fact, twenty eight percent of all Four,192 cars produced in the US in one thousand nine hundred were electrified, according to the American Census. And the total value of electrical cars sold was more than gasoline and steam powered cars combined that year.В
It even had key advantages over gasoline- and steam-powered cars in the early 1900s. Yes, that’s right — cars once ran on steam.
While the early electrical cars were basically horseless carriagesВ poweredВ byВ batteries, they did have some perks.
For one, they didn’t have the smell, noise, or stimulation that steam or gasoline cars had. The were also a lot lighter to operate. Gasoline cars had to be by hand cranked to embark, and the vehicles required the driver to switch gears while driving, which was very difficult.
Steam-powered cars didn’t require manual gear shifting, but they could take a while to begin and had less range than electrified cars.
But by 1935, electrical cars were no longer popular. The internal-combustion engine had won and would rule the automotive world for decades.
By this time, Henry Ford’s mass production of internal-combustion engines made gas-powered cars significantly cheaper than electrified cars. For example, in one thousand nine hundred twelve an electrified roadster priced at about $1,750, whereas a gas-powered car cost only $650.
Next-generation gasoline carsВ also packed a number of improvements, including an electrified starter, that made themВ a lot lighter to operate. By 1935, electrified cars were sparse.В
It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that interest in electrical cars began to grow again.
Much like today, concerns over pollution were partly responsible for the renewed interest in developing the technology for electrified cars.
In 1970, the Clean Air Act was established, which required states to take control of their air quality and meet certain standards by deadlines. The OPEC oil embargo of 1973, which skyrocketed gasoline prices, also sparkedВ interest in alternativesВ to fueled vehicles.
And by one thousand nine hundred seventy six Congress took activity and passed the Electrified and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act, which authorized the Energy Department to support research and development in electrical and hybrid vehicles.
Two companies led the way during the 1970s. The very first was Sebring-Vanguard, which produced over Two,000 “CitiCars.”
These miniature commuter cars had a top speed of forty four mph, a normal cruise speed of thirty eight mph, and a range of fifty to sixty miles.
The Citicar and its variants remainedВ the most-produced American electrified car until 2011, when the Tesla Roadster surpassed it.
The other was Elcar Corporation.
The Elcar, also known as the Zagato Zele, was a puny electrified car produced by the Italian company Zagato. However, it was sold in the US by the Elcar Corporation.В
The lil’ vehicle could reach aВ speed of forty five mph, has a range of sixty miles when fully charged, and cost inbetween $Four,000 and $Four,500.
Electrified cars weren’t just a US phenomenon, however. Automakers around the world began investing more in the technology. BMW debuted its very first electrified car at the one thousand nine hundred seventy two Summer Olympics.
BMW’s one thousand six hundred two E was developed in one thousand nine hundred seventy two and was showcased at the Summer Olympics that year.В
TwelveВ lead-acid starter batteries powered the vehicle, which featured a 42-horsepower electrified motor. It could reach a top speed of sixty two mphВ andВ had a range of thirty seven miles.В
Albeit Olympics organizers used the one thousand six hundred two E during the Munich games, the vehicle never went into production.В
Many more electrified cars debuted in the 1970s, but not many sold.
Limitations in range and speed — and style — kept electrical cars from being adopted on a mass scale, and their popularity declined in the 1980s.
By the 1990s, emissions regulations once again shoved automakers to revisit electrical vehicles.
The one thousand nine hundred ninety Clean Air Act Amendment and the one thousand nine hundred ninety two Energy Policy Act helped spur investment again in electrified vehicles.
The California Air Resources Board also passed fresh regulations that required automakers to make and sell a zero-emissions vehicle in order for them to market their cars in the state.В
The most famous, or infamous, example from this period was GM’s EV1, which was leased through Saturn dealerships.
Beginning in 1996, GM produced 1,117 units of its EV1. The car was only available to people in California, Arizona, and Georgia and it could not be bought, only leased.В
The car boasted a range of about one hundred miles on a single charge and could go from zero to sixty in just seven seconds.В
While consumers responded positively to the EV1, it wasn’t a profitable business for GM and the company determined to recall all of the vehicles once leases had expired. The company then demolished most of the vehicles, only keeping forty models to donate to museums and other institutions.В
The rise of the Toyota Prius also helped grow interest in fuel-efficient cars.
The Prius was very first produced in Japan in 1997, but then it became available worldwide in 2000.В
The Prius was one of the very first mass-produced hybrid-electric vehicles, and it quickly became a statement car.В
In the very first year of its global launch, the company sold some 50,000 Prius vehicles worldwide.В
By January 2017, Toyota had sold more than ten million hybrid vehicles — more than six million of which were in the Prius family.В
And in 2006, news of Tesla’s plans for a battery powered car with a range of two hundred miles per charge helped raise the profile of electrified vehicles.
By 2011, the Tesla had launched its Roadster. But while the car had a range of overВ two hundred forty miles per charge, it cost more than $100,000.В
In 2010, Nissan began delivering its all-electric Leaf in the US.
Nissan’s Leaf has a range of one hundred miles per charge and a more budget-conscious price of around $30,000.
The car is presently the bestselling electrical highway-capable vehicle in the world. As of December of 2016, Nissan has sold more than 250,000 Leafs worldwide.
In June 2012, Tesla began delivery of its Model S, its 2nd long-range electrical car.
Tesla’s very first spectacle Model S, which had anВ 85-kilowatt hour battery, had an official EPA range of two hundred sixty five miles per charge.В
The company originally intended to supply the Model S in 2011. However, the company didn’t begin deliveries until late mid-2012.В
Tesla delivered the Model S to the very first customers at an event at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California on June 22, 2012.В
In October 2016, GM made a big thrust into the electric-car space with the launch of its Chevy Bolt, an all-electric car with a range of more than two hundred miles per charge.
While GM has a long history with electrical cars, the Bolt is its very first all-electric car with a range of more than two hundred miles.В
The Chevy BoltВ can go two hundred thirty eight miles inbetween “fill-ups”В and costs about $30,000, after a $7,500 federal tax credit. Top speed isВ ninety one mph.В
While charging, the car gains about twenty five miles in range every hour. The car can fully charge in nine hours with a 240-volt unit.
Looking forward, Tesla has big plans to produce its very first mass-market car, called the Model Trio, by the end of this year.
While Tesla has thus far focused on selling luxury high-end vehicles, it plans toВ begin producing its very first budgetВ electrified car in 2017.В
The Model three will feature a range of more than two hundred miles and will price at $35,000 before tax incentives.В
The company also plans on eventually launching an affordable crossover, dubbed the Model Y, and an electrical truck.В
In response, traditional automakers like Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen are ramping up investment in the space.
During the next few years, we will see a number of electrical cars come to market from older automakers.В
Ford announced in January that it aims to suggest thirteen fresh electrified vehicles, including hybrids, within the next five years. One of the fresh vehicles it plans to launch will be a fully electrified SUV with a range of at least three hundred miles per charge. В
Mercedes and Volvo both plan to launch an all-electric car in 2019, and Volkswagen has said it aims to have a production version of its all-electric ID Concept SUV ready by 2020.