Who invented the electric car?
You could be forgiven for thinking the electric car is a recent invention: the Tesla Roadster, the company’s first battery electric vehicle (BEV), launched in 2008. But the history of electric vehicles goes back many decades before Elon Musk’s involvement.
Who invented the electric car? It’s a good question – and it depends on how you define ‘electric car’. From the first electric motor to the hybrids and BEVs we drive today, let’s look at the significant milestones along the way.
Origins Of Electric Motors
The technology that allows electric cars to exist dates back to experiments carried out in the 1740s by the American inventor Benjamin Franklin and the Scottish monk Andrew Gordon. Both conducted experiments using electricity and magnetism, and Gordon is credited with inventing the first forerunner of what eventually became the electric motor.
Almost a century later, in 1828, Hungarian scientist Anyos Jedlik created the first modern direct current (DC) electric motor, with parts including the stator, rotor and commutator that can still be found in modern-day designs. His original prototype motor reportedly still works, two centuries later.
The First Electric Cars
With the invention of rechargeable lead-acid batteries in 1859 by the French physicist Gaston Plane, all the necessary parts existed for electric cars to be built. But it took another 25 years for that to happen. In 1884, the first production electric car hit the roads of London, built by the Englishman Thomas Parker.
Before that date, several previous efforts were worth recognition: Jedlik had fitted his motor to a miniature car to create an electric model. Scotland’s Robert Anderson built a crude electric carriage in the 1830s. Electric locomotives were trialled, along with primitive outboard motors for boats, and even an electric tricycle. But Parker’s invention is generally considered the first true electric car.
End Of The Golden Age
After Parker’s 1884 prototype, electric cars quickly became a popular choice. They were cleaner than petrol-powered cars, with no gear changes, and did not need to be hand-cranked to start the engine. But as road infrastructure improved and long-distance driving became more feasible, internal combustion engines offered a greater range.
Henry Ford pioneered mass production of gasoline-powered cars – launching the Model T in 1908 – and in 1912 Charles Kettering invented the electric starter, removing the need to crank the engine to get it started. By the 1920s, electric cars were in decline, except for specific applications like forklift trucks and milk floats.
The Second Age Of Electric Cars
Interest in electric cars began to increase again in the mid-20th century, with several prototypes and limited production EVs created by different manufacturers. 31st July 1971, marked one of the most significant landmarks in the history of electric vehicles, as the Apollo 15 mission was the first time the battery-powered Lunar Rover Vehicle was driven on the moon.
The Sinclair C5, a one-person three-wheeled BEV, was developed by Sir Clive Sinclair and entered production in 1985. Despite production lasting only around six months and selling just 5,000 units, the C5 remains an iconic image of the 1980s and a forerunner of the return of BEVs to public roads.
What About Solar Cars?
Solar-powered EVs have been around since 1955, when General Motors engineer William G Cobb designed the 15-inch, 12-cell Sunmobile. In 1987, GM became the first winners of the World Solar Challenge, a 3,000 km race through the Australian outback. Their vehicle, the Sunraycer, set an average speed of 41.57 mph.
The Honda Dream won the third running of the World Solar Challenge in 1993, the first vehicle to average over 50 mph. Dream’s final stats were 52.79 mph or 84.96 kph, completing the race in 35 hours and 28 minutes. Honda featured Dream in their TV adverts in the late 1990s, saying: “This is a car so advanced it doesn’t need petrol. Instead, it’s powered by the sun… There’s no room for the kids yet, but by the time yours are fully grown, they may well be driving one of this car’s descendants.”
Modern Electric Cars
All of this brings us to the modern era of electric cars – so who blazed this trail? The Toyota Prius was launched in 1997 as the first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The Honda Insight beat it to launch in the USA in 1999, making Honda the first brand to enter the US market with a modern-era HEV.
The Tesla Roadster was the first fully electric BEV to offer a range of over 200 miles on a single charge, paving the way for 21st-century BEVs and, after a century of dominance by ICEs, a transition back to electric cars as the technology of first choice. From Franklin, Gordon and Jedlik, through to the entrepreneurial spirit of Elon Musk, nearly three centuries of invention and innovation underpins the science and systems upon which EVs operate.
