A brief history
Electric cars
1837 On a stretch of Glasgow railway, Scottish chemist Robert Davidson successfully tests the first electric vehicle. The seven-tonne locomotive is later destroyed by railway workers, thus proving the eternal truth that, if you’ve got a shiny new ride, you’re best not leaving it parked overnight in Glasgow.
1859 French scientist Camille Alphonse Faure pioneers the first rechargeable battery. This represents a huge jump in EV development: before 1859, customers had been put off by the onerous costs of having to buy a new car every time they ran out of charge.
1900 The electric car enters its first golden age, with battery-powered vehicles outselling petrol cars almost two-to-one in the United States. The battery powered vehicles’ popularity is attributed to (a) being simpler to maintain than a gasoline car, and (b) being less likely than a horse to boot you squarely in the plums.
1908 The Model T Ford arrives, almost instantly ending the electric car’s first ‘golden age’. Model T drivers appreciate being able to travel further, faster, than any electric car of the day, and not have to pack a whole suitcase of adaptors when they head off on a driving holiday.
1971 The electric car enjoys a brief moment in the sun, as NASA’s battery-powered Lunar Rover becomes the first car to drive on the Moon. When the Apollo 15 mission departs, it leaves three Lunar Rovers on the surface of the Moon. EVs have maintained a 100 per cent share of the Moon new car market since.
1985 The Sinclair C5 is launched, an electric car delivering all the speed and handling of a mobility scooter, with none of the good looks. The C5 does more for the popularity of the internal combustion engine than every glorious supercar of the 20th century combined.
2008 The Tesla Roadster is launched. Not only the first production EV to use lithium ion batteries, the Roadster is also the first production EV that could legitimately be described as ‘interesting to drive’. Despite the worldwide success of the Roadster, Tesla’s owner, shrinking wallflower Elon Musk, manages to keep a low profile over the subsequent decade. Whatever happened to that guy?
2017 The UK government announces legislation to make all new cars electrified by 2040. The move causes widespread outrage among mainstream manufacturers, who complain there’s no way they can implement such wholesale changes by twenty to nine that evening.