EVs arent new; theyve been around for almost 200 years
Think electric vehicles are a 21st century fad?
EVs have a long history that spans the course of nearly two centuries.
Andersons electric carriage used non-rechargeable batteries, which limited the practicality of such a vehicle.
1859 - 1881
In 1859, France took the lead in EV development.
The lead acid battery was invented in France by Gaston Plante.
The lead acid battery is the same basic battery technology thats still used by gas-powered vehicles today.
Andrew Riker and a friend racing an electric car circa 1901.Smithsonian/Museum of American History
20th Century EVs
Electric vehicles remained quite popular at the dawn of the 20th century.
Today the two main battery technologies used by electric vehicles, NCA and NMC, are both lithium-ion based.
The moon buggy was both an electric vehicle and the first manned vehicle to be operated on the moon.
An electric runabout used from 1906 to the early 1930s.Original image courtesy of the Smithsonian/National Museum of American History
Other automakers hadnt completely forgotten about EVs, either.
The technology was just about there, but there were a number of stumbling blocks in the way.
NCA battery technology was invented first, followed by MNC battery technology shortly thereafter.
Cherubino/Wikimedia Commons
Both are variants on older lithium-ion cells, and both would go on to power modern electric vehicles.
Those improved battery technologies created EV opportunities unlike any the world had seen previously.
The industry exploded with new takes on electric vehicles.
Cherubino/Wikimedia Commons
With Tesla electric vehicles on the road, a number of major automakers shortly followed suit.
By 2014, there were 23 different electric vehicles models on the market in the US.
Within the next decade, every major automaker had fielded at least one electric vehicle.
Its also possible that technologies like hot swappable batteries could make refueling your electric car even faster and easier.
By 2020, that number had soared to 1.8 million.
Growth in other locations, like Europe and China, has been even faster.
