The History of E-Mobility

Electric cars are considered to be the absolute trend of the future. However, what almost nobody is aware of today: Its hour of birth and initial heyday goes back more than 100 years.

• 1859: French physicist Gaston Plante invented the rechargeable lead battery. With that, he created an important prerequisite for the development of electric cars.
• 1881: Gustave Trouvé presented the first electric car with a lead battery at the electricity trade fair in Paris. This is considered to be the dawn of electromobility. The three-wheel construction achieved a speed of up to twelve km/h. Following on from Trouvé, increasing numbers of manufacturers began to develop electric cars.
• 1890: American William Morrison constructed the first successful model. The carriage-like vehicle was powered by a 2.5 horsepower electric engine, which was fed by eight batteries under the seats. The maximum speed lay at ten to twelve km/h – this roughly corresponded to the leisurely pace of a horse-drawn carriage.
• 1899: "La Jamais Contente" ("The Never Satisfied"), an electrically powered car of record-breaking speed belonging to the Belgium racing driver Camille Jenatzy, was the first electric car to exceed the symbolic limit of 100 km/h.
• 1900: The Lohner Porsche is launched on the market:
  At the Paris World Fair, Ferdinand Porsche presented an innovative electric car, which he had been commissioned to design by the Viennese coach maker Ludwig Lohner. The Lohner Porsche was fitted with two 2.5 horsepower engines, which were directly integrated within the hubs of the front wheels. The major advantage: no energy-eating gearbox or other mechanical element was necessary for power transmission. Porsche resolved the problem of low range by combining the electric engine with a combustion engine to create a hybrid motor. With the aid of a generator, the gasoline engine produced electricity for the battery, which in turn supplied the electric engines.
• 1900: The heyday of electric cars:
  Although it didn't take long for the first gasoline-powered cars to come onto the market following the invention of the combustion engine in 1886, the electric car, despite its limited range, was still ahead at the turn of the century. For, in comparison to gasoline engines, it drove almost noiselessly and jerk-free, and was simple and clean to use.
• 1911: The demise of electric cars:
  There were several reasons that led to electric cars being increasingly forced out of the market again. One of them was the invention of the electric starter for combustion engines in 1911 by American Charles F. Kettering. This meant that the combustion engine no longer had to be painstakingly cranked up. In addition there were increasing numbers of gas stations, and oil was extremely cheap. Furthermore, a change in image had taken place thanks to clever advertising. This led to the electric car market dramatically losing its share by 1920 and production practically coming to a complete standstill from the 1920’s.
• Since 1930: Electric cars eke out a niche existence:
  The invention of the electric starter for the Otto engine meant the abrupt end of electric cars. Following the breakthrough of the gasoline-powered cars, electrically powered vehicles merely eked out an existence as a niche product. 1990: In the USA, especially in California, people are heading toward the power outlets again: The Clean Air Act is striving to achieve that ten percent of all cars registered in this state must be emission-free. The American car manufacturers Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, as well as the Japanese companies of Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Nissan voluntarily made the commitment to launch e-cars onto the market. The race to introduce the first purely electric cars was ultimately won by General Motors with the EV 1 and Honda with the Honda EV.
• Today: Revival of the electrics:
  Rising gasoline prices, climate protection measures and enormous progress in battery technology have led to electric cars again being considered as trendsetting. There is no manufacturer of note, who is not working on one or other version of an e-car. Enormous potential is being predicted for the electric car. Just how far the development has progressed and how the future could look, is demonstrated by the American manufacturer Tesla. Its "Roadster", a two-seater sports car, accelerates from 0 up to 100 km/h in three seconds. Almost 7,000 cells of commercial lithium ion batteries serve as an electricity reservoir. A range of approx. 350 km can thus be achieved. The "Tesla Roadster" has been produced in a small series since mid 200