The Long History of The Electric Car

History of The Electric Car


Tobacco giant Philip Morris International has announced that it will stop selling cigarettes in the UK within the next ten years. He noted that those wishing to continue smoking would be encouraged to switch to modern alternatives, such as e-cigarettes or heated tobacco devices, which are considered less harmful. The world is preparing to switch to electric consumption vehicles with everything in the next 10 years. It will take its place in every aspect of our lives, from electric cigarettes to electrically controlled air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, smart homes, buildings, sites, smart small household appliances, fields irrigated by electrically controlled mechanisms, electric bicycles and cars.

By 2040, more than 50 percent of the world's vehicles are expected to be electric vehicles. The world had tried the electric vehicle model nearly 200 years ago and failed in the face of oil.

As he prepares to switch to the electric system again, let's take a look at the failed history of electric vehicles and the reasons for failure, and then his new success story, which he wrote from the ashes.

The electric vehicle model is on the agenda again in the world

Humanity has always sought ways of faster mobility. Horses were the first means of transportation. After the invention of the wheel, carriages were added next to the horse. It was followed by bicycles, mopeds, cars, trains, planes.

Faster means of transport were invented all the time. Now, not only fast vehicles, but also the search for cheap and environmentally friendly fuel-consumption vehicles is on the agenda of humanity.

The damage of air pollution to our world, the decrease and price of oil reserves have led to the search for alternative energies in fuel consumption.

Turkey has taken important steps in the production of electric vehicles for the last 5 years and introduced the TOGG brand. TOGG is expected to launch electric cars in 2023.

Contrary to popular belief, the invention of electric vehicles is not new. In the 1800s and the beginning of the 20th century, the electric vehicle model was tried in the world before oil was found, but failed both with the discovery of oil and the lack of infrastructure for electric vehicles.

100 years later, electric vehicles have come to the fore again due to air pollution caused by oil.

The steps taken in recent years to prevent air pollution and international environmental meetings brought about a return to the electric vehicle model, which was tried before oil.

On the way to the invention of the electric car

The history of electric cars can be divided into four different periods:

The early pioneers of electric vehicles (1830-1880), the transition to transportation with the electric motor (1880-1914), the rise of the internal combustion engine (1914-1970), the return of electric vehicles (1970-2003). In the early 1800s, a series of technological breakthroughs in batteries and motors and improvements by engineering and automotive pioneers led to the production of the first electric vehicles.

It all started with the creation of the battery, the groundbreaking invention of Italian physicist and inventor Alessandro Volta in 1775.

Then a blacksmith in Vermont, USA, invented a small drag scooter powered by an electric motor.

From horse-drawn carriage to electric car

When we take a look at the first electric cars produced, we can see that many of them are similar to horse-drawn carriages.

In fact, we can see that there are no lights giving direction signals like in modern cars, the driver removes his left arm when turning left, and when turning right, if anyone is sitting on the right, it signals that they will take their arm out and turn.

As the brake control is controlled by the hand of the horses, the vehicle is stopped by the driver's hand pulling the lever towards himself.

The steering wheel was also not round as it is today. It was a mechanism designed in such a way that straight, right and left turns correspond to a long stick-like steering wheel and the driver's right hand.

The reason for all this was that electric car technology was adopted soon after horse-drawn carriages. And all the control and motion patterns were positioned relative to the carriage.

Because it would be useful to open a parenthesis here. Steam-powered cars were produced after horse-drawn carriages.

However, steam vehicles, which could not meet the expectations and development in terms of speed, increased the need for vehicles working with alternative energy models.

This prompted the inventors of the period to think about electric cars.

After the invention of the electric locomotive by Robert Davidson, another Scottish man, Robert Anderson, began to think about individual electric transport.

He focused on the possibilities of replacing horse-powered transport.

Electric transport was the first thing that came to mind in the years 1832-1839, when oil was not yet available.

Because his namesake, Robert Davidson, had invented the electric locomotive in 1839, inspired by him. This idea was the most plausible source of energy among the inventors of the time.

Between 1832 and 1839, Robert Anderson invented a battery-powered three-wheeler, 2 in the front and one in the rear.

However, since rechargeable batteries were not invented in these years and could not be sustained only with non-rechargeable disposable batteries, he would end his invention at this stage.

Rechargeable batteries would appear 20 years after this invention, in 1859.

The sad thing is that Robert Anderson, the first electric car manufacturer in history, lost the details of this invention and remained in the footnotes in the history books only as the pioneer of electric cars.

Daniel Strohl, "Why it's so difficult to identify the inventor of the electric car?" "Why is it so difficult to identify the first inventor of the electric car?" He asks the question and states that it is not possible to know who first used the dynamo, rechargeable batteries and other parts that should be in electric cars.

For this reason, he states that it is not known exactly who the inventor of the first electric cars was, while emphasizing that the electrically powered car invented by Robert Anderson in 1932 was made before the patent was granted.

Strohl uses the following statements about the inventor of the electric car:

As early as 1832, Scottish inventor Robert Anderson built an electric car using non-rechargeable batteries. And while it was mentioned in honorable detail in the history of the electric car, it was not possible to reach more details.

It should be underlined that there are two prominent Robert Andersons in this period. Anderson, who served as a unit officer in the American Civil War between 1861-65, is a US-born soldier.

Our inventor, Anderson, is Scottish. However, historical sources have less information about the inventor Anderson than about the soldier.

After this invention, the visible step that would take the inventions one step further was the production of an electric locomotive by Scottish chemist Robert Davidson in 1838.

However, this locomotive had one flaw. And that was that it could only travel at 4 miles per hour and only a mile and a half.

Later in the 1860s, French physicist Gaston Plante invented the first rechargeable lead-acid battery.

It was a major breakthrough for electric mobility. Afterwards, other developments accelerated and began to follow each other.

First rechargeable battery vehicle trials

It was not until 1881 that the rechargeable battery-powered electric vehicle was introduced. French inventor Gustava Trouve developed an engine for marine applications.

Taking the electrically powered 17-foot launch vehicle for a cruise on the River Seine with friends abroad, Trouve adapted it to power an outdoor swivel pedal tricycle.

In November 1881, it was exhibited as an electrically powered 3-wheeled car at the International Electricity Exposition in Paris.

The following year, Professor William Ayrton from London and John Perry from Ireland combined their knowledge and experience to produce an electric tricycle.

The battery worked on was 20V and half horsepower. Depending on the flatness of the terrain, the speed of the bike could reach between 14 and 40 kilometers per hour.

Two of the wheels of this bike were in the front and one in the back.

Transition to transportation with electric motor (1880-1914)

Towards the end of the 1800s, the electric car market began its most important attack.

From the 1890s onwards, the leading battery and car companies of the time made many important developments, large and small.

Lead-acid batteries have begun to take their place in electric vehicles.

But batteries still needed improvement. At this time, electric vehicles began to bear fruit.

Electric cars were becoming popular among wealthy folk, high society, and leading entrepreneurs of the time.

While experts emphasized that electric vehicles constitute the most successful sales chart of the 20th century, they could not predict that this situation would reverse in the 21st century.

In the early 20th century, many people began to replace their horses and carts with motor vehicles.

As a result, the popularity of the car skyrocketed, and there was contention for the future of mobility.

What were the options that these conflicts and investigations gave rise to? Steam, electricity and oil.

At the time, there was a fairly even division between the three vehicles on American roads: 40 percent of the vehicles were steam, 38 percent electric, and only 22 percent gasoline powered.

Steam vehicles had been growing in popularity since the 1870s and had a small majority in the US market at the turn of the century, but there were major setbacks that ultimately led to their decline.

Steam vehicles run for up to 45 minutes and had to be constantly filled with water.

In the end, while steam was reliable for factories and trains, it was hardly practical for personal vehicles.

In an article published "A Brief History of the Electric car, 1830 to Present" by Kevin A. Wilson, the electric car idea became more viable with the advent of rechargeable batteries in 1859, and in 1884 it was introduced by inventor Thomas Parker in England. He also says that he helped deploy electrically powered trams and build prototype electric cars.

In 1890, DesMoines-based chemist William Morrison, originally Scottish, applied for a patent for the electric car he had built as early as 1887.

In 1888, this vehicle appears at a parade for trial. It is reported to be a front-wheel drive, 4-horsepower electric vehicle that can reach a top speed of 20 miles per hour.

It has 24 battery cells whose batteries need to be recharged every 50 miles.

Morrison's electric car creates a sensation at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

The rise of the internal combustion engine (1914-1970)

The electric car was the dream of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison

It is well known that Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were good friends late in life.

They camped together, gave each other generous gifts, and even owned houses next to each other.

Electric cars experienced their darkest period when the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle was introduced, where mass production increased.

With Ford's Model T, gasoline-powered cars became widely available and affordable.

Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were very focused on the idea of producing electric cars.

However, Ford decided it would cost less to get the petrol car without partnering with Edison.

Ford produced the first gasoline Model T in 1908. At the time, the cheapest electric car price was $1,750, while Ford offered the Model T for just $650 to $750.

This was Ford's sales success. It managed to become the most purchased car of the period.

 

Porsche's history begins with electricity

 

The world was teeming with automotive inventions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some car brands that are still familiar today dealt with electricity in these years and produced their first vehicles. For example, it was the first hybrid car that Porsche, famous for its powerful sports cars, could run on both petrol and electricity.

Son of II. The Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton model, designed in 1898 by 23-year-old Ferdinand Porsche, who would establish today's Porsche company after World War II, was powered by an electric drive system and was the first car of this brand. It had 5 horsepower and could accelerate to 22 miles per hour. On September 28, 1899, he had won a 25-mile race between electric vehicles at an exhibition in Berlin.

 

Porsche's own website also included the following information on the subject:

Even in his youth, Ferdinand Porsche was fascinated by electricity. As early as 1893, at the age of 18, he installed an electric lighting system in his family's home. That the same year, Porsche joined Vereinigte Elektrizitäts-AG Béla Egger in Vienna. After four years there, he moved from mechanics to head of the testing department. Also the first vehicles he designed also had electric drives. That's why Porsche's history begins with electric drive.


Ferdinand Porsche

Ferdinand Porsche

 

In 1898, Ferdinand Porsche designed the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton as well. The vehicle was powered by an octagonal electric motor and had a power of 5 horsepower and reached a top speed of 25 kilometers per hour.

In 1899, Porsche joined car manufacturer kuk Hofwagenfabrik Ludwig Lohner & Co. in Vienna.

This first car of Porsche continues to be exhibited at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart along with others.

 

This first car of Porsche
This first car of Porsche


Electric car charged with wind vane was produced

According to the news in the Popular Science Monthly in May 1940, a rechargeable electric car was invented with a weather vane.

Electricity generated from the wind rose was used to drive the vehicle, which inventor J. C. Thomas described as a "wind mobile."

When the vehicle was parked, it turned the windmill in front with its weather vane and started a generator that charged the machine's twelve powerful batteries.

Then, via the electric motor, the batteries drove the car to speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.

According to the inventor's figures, the invention cost him a quarter of a cent per mile.

Electric car powered by a wind vane

Electric car powered by a wind vane

With the discovery of oil, the shoes of electric vehicles were thrown to the roof, so to speak. The electric vehicle model gradually gave way to petrol cars.

At the beginning of the 20th century, gasoline-powered vehicles were introduced, promising faster transportation.

100 years later, the fact that oil pollutes the air came to the fore and signals of a return to the past were given.

Errors that lead electric vehicles to collapse; insufficient technology, insufficient infrastructure and high prices

The electric vehicle model was adopted around the world. However, this model has collapsed. Three main faults had caused its crash.

First, the batteries of the vehicles were not large enough and did not have long-term use capacity.

Secondly, one of the biggest reasons why electric vehicles have not been successful in history was the lack of sustainable infrastructure.

Chief among these was the lack of sufficient charging stations. The low energy density of the battery required a much denser network of charging stations than for a petrol vehicle. The lack of this prevented intercity travels from being made. Along with all these shortcomings, the third reason was that electric car prices were quite high at that time.

 

The first electric vehicle charging station in history

Countries that want to switch to the electric vehicle model

In recent years, the number of researches on electric vehicles has increased significantly.

One that stands out among these is the research conducted by DeloitteTouche Tohmatsu Limited Global Manufacturing Industry Group.

Accordingly, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, India and China are among the countries with the highest customer interest in electric vehicles in the world, with a customer potential of more than 85%.

These countries are followed by Italy and Spain with a moderate interest of 71-85%.

Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Australia follow with 55-70 percent interest. Canada US tops the list with less than 55 percent customer interest in Japan.

Countries with the highest demand for electric vehicles on the map
Countries with the highest demand for electric vehicles on the map

 

As a result, when viewed in a historical context, the invention of the electric car dates back to 1832, while in the 19th century, electric cars experienced the period of trial and prototype production.

Cars of this period did not have the courage to go into mass production to a great extent.

When it comes to the 20th century, we see that many electric car brands are born and they sell thousands of cars with mass production.

In fact, the first half of the 20th century was the time when electric cars were more in traffic than oil cars.

The electric transportation of this period was built by mass-produced electric car companies of the period, such as The Detroit Elctric, Cadillac, Porsche, Studebaker Electric, The Pope Waverley Electric, Columbus Electric, Saxon Motor Car Company, Milburn Light Electric, and Baker Electrics.

While some of these brands continued their activities, some of them ended their activities and preserved their place in museums with the cars they produced.

Now we are getting ready for the era of electric vehicles again. Turkey also introduced its first step in this field in the world with the TOGG electric car brand.

If electric vehicles, which will become an important market in the coming years, can catch up with their success in history, they will improve themselves and prepare them for a cleaner and noiseless world by being introduced to electric sea, land and rail public transportation vehicles.

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