The fascinating evolution of the electrified car

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The potential of electrified cars seems to be higher now than ever before.

Traditional automakers including General Motors, Volkswagen, Daimler AG, and others are all investing powerfully in electrical vehicles. And Tesla, of course, has built its entire business off of 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’s very first heyday was in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In one thousand eight hundred ninety nine and 1900, electrified 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 electrical, 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

They even had key advantages over gasoline- and steam-powered cars in the early 1900s.

While the early electrified 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 commence, 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 awhile to embark and had less range than electrical cars.

But by 1935, electrified cars were no longer popular.

By this time, Henry Ford’s mass production of combustion engines made gas-powered cars significantly cheaper than electrified cars. For example, in one thousand nine hundred twelve an electrified roadster sold for $1,750, while a gasoline car sold for $650.

Next-generation gasoline carsВ also packed a number of improvements, including an electrical starter, that made themВ a lot lighter to operate. By one thousand nine hundred thirty five electrical cars were sparse.В

It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s when interest in electrified 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 act and passed the Electrified and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act, which authorized the Energy Department to support research and development in electrified and hybrid vehicles.

Two companies became leaders in electrified car production 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 company that rose to prominence was Elcar Corporation.

The Elcar had a top speed of forty five mph, a range of sixty miles, and cost inbetween $Four,000 and $Four,500.

Electrical cars weren’t just a US phenomenon, however. Automakers around the world began investing more in the technology. BMW even debuted its very first electrical 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 electrical 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 electrical cars debuted in the 1970s, but not many sold.

Limitations in range and speed — and style — kept electrified cars from being adopted on a mass scale, and their popularity died down in the 1980s.

But by 1990’s, 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 electrical 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

One of the most popular electrical cars during this period became General Motors EV 1.

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 model to donate to museums and other institutes.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 July of this year, the company had sold more than eight million hybrid vehicles — more than five million of which wereВ Prius cars.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 more than two hundred forty miles per charge, it cost more than $100,000.В

In 2010, Nissan begin 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 this year, Nissan has sold more than 200,000 Leafs worldwide and more than 88,000 in the US alone since its launch.В

Looking forward, Tesla has big plans to produce its very first mass-market car, called the Model Three, by 2017.

While Tesla has thus far focused on selling luxury high-end vehicles, it is expected to begin producing its very first budgetВ electrical car in 2017.В

The Model three will feature a range of more than two hundred miles and price ofВ about $35,000.В

In response, traditional automakers like General Motors 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

General Motors is aiming to have its Chevy Bolt, shown above, go into production late in 2016. The car will feature a range of two hundred miles and charging to eighty percent capacity in just forty five minutes.В

It’s also expected to price around $30,000, which will make it a direct competitor with Tesla’s Model Three.В

A fresh car start-up called Faraday Future is taking after Tesla and is planning on building a long-range electrified car.

Faraday Future is still in stealth mode, but the company has said itВ plans to haveВ cars on the road by 2020.

The company hasn’t collective any details about the exact range of its vehicles. However, Nick Sampson, itsВ head of research and development, said that the batteries in its cars will beВ larger than Tesla’s. This might meanВ Faraday Future’s very first carsВ could have a range of two hundred fifty miles or more per charge.В

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