Historical concepts for electric mobility

The electric car, a modern invention?

No – more than 100 years ago cars were already driving on electricity, proportionally even many more than today. 1886 is an important year for car fans in this respect. That year the automobile was born. Carl Benz drove through Mannheim for the first time in his three-wheeled motor car, and Gottlieb Daimler made the first journey in his petrol-engined motor carriage in Cannstatt.

Less well known is that as early as 1881 the Frenchman Gustave Trouvé (German) presented his electrically powered tricycle at the Electricity Exhibition in Paris. This tricycle, fitted with lead-acid batteries, is considered the world’s first working electric car. In the early days of the automobile, electric drive was regarded as promising. Electric cars were quieter than cars with combustion engines and, above all, easier to operate and more reliable. At that time roads were only paved in urban areas, and there were very few filling stations. All these reasons spoke in favour of the electric car.

1896: electric car wins the first American car race

In 1896 the first car race in America took place. Five petrol-powered cars and one electric car took part. The electric car won the race, and electric drive technology seemed to be prevailing. In 1900 there were twelve manufacturers of electric cars in the USA, producing 28 per cent of all cars in the USA. At that time a range of 40 to 65 kilometres and a top speed of 32 km/h were enough, as there were no well-developed long-distance roads yet. The success of electric cars peaked in 1912, when there were 20 manufacturers of electric cars in the USA alone. Detroit Electric, Baker Motor Vehicle, Studebaker Electric and the Columbia Automobile Company were important manufacturers of electric cars in the USA.

It sounds strange, but it was above all inventions in the field of vehicle electrics that caused the electric car to gradually lose importance:

• The electric starter was introduced in 1912 and made the laborious cranking of engines unnecessary.
• Improved ignition systems increased the reliability of combustion engines.
• The road network was massively expanded. Cars with combustion engines had the advantage of range, which still applies today.

Electric cars disappeared from the market in the following decades; only commercial vehicles and microcars with electric drive remained.

It was not until the oil crises of the 1970s and growing environmental awareness that more intensive research into alternative drive technologies for cars began. Electric drive in cars is now getting a second chance.

An electric bicycle was developed as early as the 19th century

In 1895 Ogden Bolton patented an electric bicycle. The inventor himself writes that he had not created anything new but had only improved the electric bicycle, and he even refers to existing specialists in this field.

Electric mobility from the early 1900s

Mercury is dangerous as a vapour, but not in other states. Take a look at this old method of generating electricity before the “restart”. Our ancestors had electric cars powered by electricity obtained from mercury. Under the picture on the left it says: “Mercury arc rectifier!”

The older model from the title image charging at a “power outlet”.

The first motorised scooters, called Autoped, were made from 1915 to 1921 by the Autoped Company in Long Island City, New York. The scooters came in two versions: with a combustion engine (155 cc, air-cooled) and with an electric motor in the front wheel.

In New York in 1901, as many as 50% of vehicles were electrically powered.

Emperor Wilhelm II also drove an electric Mercedes. “The triumph of electric cars seemed unstoppable. Around 1900, 38 per cent of all vehicles in the USA were electrically powered and 40 per cent ran on steam. Only 22 per cent were driven by a combustion engine.”

The content of this article is derived in part from this article (German).