A short history of the electric car

Today, with the Geneva Auto Show 2015 almost here, with dozens of automotive events in the calendar exhibiting the most amazing concept cars, electric cars have become a thing of the normal. A short history of the electric car will take us through the ages, from the dawns of the first electric engines until today, when we are approaching the moment when full electric vehicles can become a truly feasible option.
The history of the electric car goes back more than a century, but as we will see, along the way the concept lost ground in favor of the mass produced gasoline car – which is still sovereign of the roads everywhere to this date. Nevertheless, in the past decades, due to repeated oil crises and increasing gasoline prices, have led to a revival of interest in what concerns electric cars.
The invention of the first electric car has been attributed to several people: Hungarian Anyos Jedlik, Thomas Davenport from Vermont, the Dutch Professor Sibrandus Stratingh. The fact is that this simultaneous invention happened around the year 1830. Manufacturers soon noticed the innovation and developed their models (like Ferdinand Porsche, who issued the P1 in 1898). Inventor Thomas Edison saw much potential and superior features in the electric car.
Nevertheless, the gasoline-fueled vehicle would “win the war” when Henry Ford mass produced Model T in 1908. The car was accessible for the everyday American and would soon win the world. By the year 1912, you could buy a Ford T for 650 Dollars (as opposed to an electric roadster sold for around 1750 Dollars).
For years, gasoline cars have ruled the market, but today the demand of an ecological as well as economical car is high. Many of the renowned car manufacturers today produce concept, hybrid and electric vehicles, only the paradigm has been reversed in terms of price. The electric cars of the moment include the Tesla Model X, Chevrolet Spark EV, Audi A3 e-Tron and BMW X5 eDrive. And this, we believe, is just the beginning of the rebirth of electric cars.