Talk:History of the electric vehicle

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 28 August 2020 and 17 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Justin Crane1.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 23:42, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

To do
Incorporate:
 * Battery_electric_vehicle ✅
 * Electric_vehicle ✅
 * Hybrid-electric vehicle designed by Porsche in the late 1800s

It should resemble, be linked to, and work is also need here:
 * History_of_the_automobile Two(2) references to Electric?
 * Automobile One half of a sentance?
 * Automobile Hook, line, and sinker.
 * Cost? The EV1 was an extremely low volume vehicle, which would have been cost competitive in normal production volumes. It's MSRP was $34K to $44K at ?800? units, what would it have cost at a minimal 10,000 units?
 * Speed? Aparently haven't heard of NEDRA or the Buckeye Bullet (314 mph). Even the EV1 set a production EV speed record at 183mph.
 * Range? Production EV's all achieved 80miles or more, some 4 times the average commute, new battery technology (Li-ion) has demonstrated up to 300 miles of range.
 * Why go into Lead-Acid's characteristics, true buy why? Few modern EV's use PbA, NiMH is the norm and Li-ion is the near-term future.  Conversion EV's use PbA because they are readily available and produced in high volume, yet many conversions have also used Li-ion's.
 * It might be worth it in terms of making the article more complete. Agreed that Li-Ion is the strong one, but if advanced lead-acid can deliver on promises, it may find a niche, especially in developing countries or if lithiuM prices spike.Jack Rosebro 18:09, 11 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Transport Could use an Electric Auto/Motorcycle section.
 * Grow your own fuel at home! 1/2 to 1/4 the energy requirements of traditional ICE.


 * source: Jalopnik

For the next few months I will try to improve the structure of the historical part, including information on early American, French and Austrian BEV’s from manufacturers Columbia, Riker, Detroit Electric, Pope, Jeantaud, Gauthier Wehrle, Lohner-Porsche to provide a wider and richer perspective on the success and failure of early BEV’s. For the more recent period, I will try to include experiments and innovation by industry leaders like Ford to explain more about success and failure during the last 60 years. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gallimons (talk • contribs) 14:29, 24 October 2021 (UTC)

Because there is still work to do and because in the introduction a good defeinition of the subjest at hand is useful, I have undone the removal of a contribution.

Using decades (or multiple decades) as a structure for the history seems appropriate. Within the decades, may be several specific topics can be used for more structure in the story, in stead of the present summing up of facts. For instance, in the decade 2010s, such a structure could be found treating the following sub-paragraphs: - Coping with range anxiety - Infrastructure for electric vehicles - The influence of government grants and taxations - Start at the top or start at the bottom? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gallimons (talk • contribs)

History of the electric "vehicle"
This article is really the history of the electric car. Should the history of the electric vehicle be created as another article, or should that information be added? AniRaptor2001 (talk) 17:13, 18 July 2009 (UTC)

Article scope is vague
Implicitly, but vaguely, it appears that this article is about electric motor-vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, etc.) that: Should this article exclude or also include: Perhaps these limits should be made explicit near the beginning of the article, if other editors agree.
 * Are designed to travel on roads or other surfaces; but NOT on rails or other mechanical guideways, on or in water, in the air, or in outer space;
 * Carry their source of electricity on board; but do NOT pick up the electricity from overhead, underground, or roadside power conductors - trolley wires, catenary wires, power rails, or linear transformer coils;
 * Do NOT generate their own electricity on board via internal- or external-combustion engines (as do the typical diesel-electric railroad locomotives and non-plug-n hybrid cars).
 * Road vehicles that generate their own electricity on board from fuel cells, solar panels, or other unusual technology, other than what are traditionally regarded as storage-battery cells?
 * Battery-powered golf carts and industrial carts?
 * Electric motorcycles & tricycles?
 * Electric-assist bicycles & tricycles?
 * Electric-assist stand-on scooters?
 * Electric-powered baklance vehicles, such as the Segway?

(Assuming the first two "dot-points" ("*-points") above, I have deleted from this article the following off-topic sentence (which appears to have been copied verbatim from the J. G. Brill article:
 * "At its height, J. G. Brill was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurban cars in the US and produced more streetcars, interurbans and gas-electric cars than any other manufacturer, building more than 45,000 streetcars alone."

(Brill made (1) powered railroad rolling stock, and (2) road "trolley" buses powered from overhead electric-transmission wires.) Acwilson9 (talk) 04:58, 21 October 2020 (UTC)

Is the Prius an electric car?
The last paragraph under "Origins and Developments" makes the statement, "Many models like the Toyota Prius have become extremely popular". In context of the paragraph, this line implies that the Prius is an electric car when it is actually a hybrid. It is not entirely incorrect to say it is "electric" but I believe the clarification should be made Susan118 01:45, 25 June 2007 (UTC)


 * The term electric vehicle encompasses electrically propelled vehicles where an electric motor significantly contributes to vehicle propulsion. This includes battery-electrics, hybrid electrics and fuel cell vehicles. LHOON 06:21, 25 June 2007 (UTC)


 * If you want to astroturf EVs to include the Prius then surely as the best selling EV evar it should be in the table, where presumably its range will dwarf all others. Personally I think that including Prius is a bit of a stretch but that's not my decision. Greglocock (talk) 23:20, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

Robert Anderson
In 1838, a Scotsman named Robert Anderson built an electric locomotive that attained a speed of four miles an hour. Please give a source. Greetings --Franz Wikipedia (talk) 11:18, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I've found a source in another article, which points to about.com. The early history is a real mess, it would benefit from someone putting some sources from literature in there. I may do some research on the topic if I find any free time. AniRaptor2001 (talk) 23:29, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

electric trucks in Brooklyn, NY 1937+
in the 1930's the "Pilgrim Laundry" in Brooklyn, New York used a fleet of electric trucks to pick-up and deliver laundry. They were mid-size trucks with flat fronts (no motor), they were painted "forest green" had solid rubber tires, on red wooden spoke wheels. Between the front and rear axles hung a large square black box containing the batteries, on the sides of the truck was a well known "painting" of a standing pilgrim with a rifle on his shoulder. It made a rather audible mechanical clicking/buzzing sound as it ran. They were an "oddity" and the kids would run on the sidewalk along with them for one or two blocks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.171.11.186 (talk) 07:28, 15 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Walter W. Nash   85+ yrs I remember these when I was 9 or 10 in Brooklyn  never saw them mensioned anywhere  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.171.11.186 (talk) 07:41, 15 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Added: I just talked with my neighbor, his dad was a mechanic there and my neighbor remembers the shape of the key (a flat bar with a notch) and he remembers that they made an odd almost bubble-popping sound as they charged at night.  Billyasay@gmail.com  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.2.100.129 (talk) 18:41, 11 July 2015 (UTC)

Non-Historical material
I'm putting this here until it can be properly re-integrated or moved elsewhere. AniRaptor2001 (talk) 23:28, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

Europe





 * France

France saw a large development of battery-electric vehicles in the 1990s; the most successful vehicle was the electric Peugeot Partner/Citroën Berlingo, of which several thousand have been built, mostly for fleet use in municipalities and by Electricité de France.

Three partners (Heuliez, Dassault and Hydro-Québec) joined efforts and launched a company named Societe des Vehicules Electriques, which built several versions of the Cleanova.


 * Italy

In Italy, all private ZEVs are exempt from taxes and have a substantial insurance fee reduction. In most cities the trash collection is performed by BEV trucks. Furthermore access to certain city centres is restricted for internal combustion engines (like in Rome) enabling the use of electric vehicles (small transporters and buses).


 * Norway

There are two electric vehicle manufacturing facilities in Norway. While Lars Ringdal produced the first Piv electric vehicle prototype in 1973 at the onset of the 1973 energy crisis, it was not until 1990 that Lar's son Jan Otto Ringdal founded PIVCO (Personal Independent Vehicle Company). This was the basis for the production of the Think brand of electric vehicles.

The Kewet electric vehicle was originally produced in Denmark, starting in 1991. In 1998 production rights were acquired by a Norwegian firm, and production moved to Norway. This vehicle is currently sold under the brand name Buddy.

In Norway, zero-emission vehicles are tax-exempt and are allowed to use the bus lane, pay no tolls on toll roads, and can park free in municipal parking lots.


 * Switzerland

In Switzerland, battery-electric vehicles are popular with private users. From 1985 to about 1995 there was an annual kind of nation-wide race for solar powered vehicles called the Tour de Sol. This resulted in the development of stylish and useful vehicles, mostly one and two-seaters with three wheels. Some vehicles were powered exclusively by on-board solar cells, some additionally by human power, but most used primarily indirect solar energy fed into the national electricity grid by stationary solar installations. There is a national network of publicly accessible charging points, called Park & Charge, which also covers part of Germany and Austria.


 * United Kingdom

For much of the 20th century, the UK was the world's largest user of electric road vehicles, as a result of a regulation stating that delivery vehicles making repeated stops in housing areas must be non-polluting. In 1968 there were 45000 such small electric vehicles in service.

In most UK cities, low-speed electric milk floats (milk trucks) are used for the home delivery of fresh milk. An active hobbyist group called the Battery Vehicle Society regularly organises racing events for mostly home-built vehicles. The inventor Clive Sinclair developed an extremely cheap, small three-wheeler called the Sinclair C5. This generated an enormous amount of publicity but not enough sales to continue the development.

In London, electrically powered vehicles are exempt from the congestion charge, although BEVs need to be registered and pay an annual £10 fee. With a £8 payable daily charge, this could provide a potential annual saving of up to £2000 - and is the reason that most UK BEVs are currently sold in London. The most popular vehicle at the moment is the REVA G-Wiz, 750 being on the road as of May 2007.

Constructive Critique
The presented article serves as a great starting point in explaining the history of the electric vehicle in predominately the United States of America. However, because of the lack of detail, the article is not a complete history of the electric vehicle. In addition, the focus on the Electric Vehicle in the United States, serves to explain only the History of the Electric Vehicle in the United States. Finally, a more detailed explanation of how the electric vehicle operates would provide a more in depth article in the development of Electric Vehicles.

Though the article does do a great job of explaining the developments in chronological order, it is evident that more emphasis is put on the development in the United States. The article explains that at a point the electric car was much more significant in Europe. However, a detailed section only exists for the development of the Electric Vehicle in the United States. If more explanation is provided of not only the developments worldwide, but also the after effects of the developments, the article would feel a bit more complete. For example, the article mentions the rise of electric Vehicles in France and Britain, but does not go into detail into the history of emergence of the electric vehicles.

The article does also provide a very vague explanation of how these electric vehicles operate, but a more detailed explanation may aid in chronicling the development of electric vehicles and the improvements made to these vehicles. More detail into the inner workings of these vehicles would allow the reader to understand how the vehicles operate, and thus allow the author to elaborate on the improvements made to the electric vehicles. An alternative to writing it on the article itself could be to link the article with another one, so that the reader has a greater understanding of the developments.

Overall, the article is very well written, and informative. It is a great start to detailing the development of electric cars, an issue that is very pertinent today especially considering what the author writes about the growing shortage of natural gas. It appears that the author/ Wikipedia editors understand that the article is missing information, and I would be very interested to see the completed article.

HIST406-10acho1 (talk) 00:43, 4 October 2010 (UTC)HIST406-10acho1


 * Oh great. Some kind of class project and a bunch of well-meaning student commentary. Instead of telling us the house is on fire, how about grabbing a bucket and helping? *Research* something and write it up. You don't need to cloak your commentary in polite but empty phrases, be concise and hit the main points succintly. --Wtshymanski (talk) 14:12, 4 October 2010 (UTC)

First practical electric car picture
("First practical electric cars") The source "electricvehiclenews" describes the picture of the vehicle as one of the early electric vehicles by Thomas Parker and not as a picture of the "first practical electric car". To present the picture with this description ist likely wrong.Mulhollant (talk) 22:49, 11 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks for pointing out the error! Please review the changes/updates. - CZmarlin (talk) 18:47, 14 December 2014 (UTC)


 * The picture is wrong in date !
 * HistoryWebsite.couk:Chronology


 * First worldwide inventor of an electric car is German inventor Andreas Flocken, see Andreas Flocken. 178.11.7.77 (talk) 23:38, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

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too many photos
Let's restrict it to one photo per manufacturer. Greglocock (talk) 01:32, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

Modern China?
It seems like there's not enough mention of China, BAIC, and BYD on this page. The top picture for this article shows a Tesla Model 3 (good - PEV with the highest monthly production rate ever), a Nissan Leaf (also good - PEV with the most cumulative global sales through 2019), the BMW i3 (eh...), and the Jaguar I-Pace (Bad. No reason to think this is a historically significant vehicle.) I think the BAIC EC-Series deserves its picture being at the top of the article more than the Jaguar I-Pace - over 10x as many of those have been built. ArtOfWarfare (talk) 22:22, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Sounds good to me. I've ridden in a BYD electric taxi and was quite impressed with it. It's a shame the west doesn't get to hear about these vehicles.  Stepho  talk 22:31, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Given that this is a history article, I would sooner replace 3/4 of them with vehicles from much earlier: Detroit Electric, Henney Kilowatt, and EV1, for example. Ccrrccrr (talk) 01:42, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
 * The vehicles you just mentioned are already covered by the article. Remember that history includes both ancient history and recent history.  Stepho  talk 03:19, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Yes, they are covered in the article. That's because they are interesting examples.  Yes, history includes the whole history.  That's why I am proposing spreading the examples used in the cover photo over the whole history.  The lede is not the place to introduce new content not covered elsewhere!  Ccrrccrr (talk) 19:34, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

Vinfast advertisement??
Does anyone know what’s going on with the mention of Vinfast cars at the end of the history section? Seems like someone at Vinfast might have edited the article for a bit of product placement. Gwizard11216 (talk) 22:48, 28 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Looks like they were added by Newone@undefined in July 2022. They may or may not be good vehicles but in the context of the history of electric vehicles they don't seem to stand out more than any other manufacturer and definitely don't merit so many images. I'd just delete them outright.  Stepho  talk 05:49, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

What about Boats?
ELCO electric boats became popular after 1893. Were these the first electric boats?https://plugboats.com/125-year-old-electric-boat-company-still-making-history/ VozhdVon (talk) 17:15, 3 December 2023 (UTC)


 * I have no idea if they were the first. But an electric boats section would be welcome if you have more information with reliable references.  Stepho  talk 05:58, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Pictures do not relate to the content
The article commences: Crude electric carriages were first invented in the late 1820s and 1830s. Practical, commercially available electric vehicles appeared during the 1890s.

The electric vehicles link only shows recent modern electric vehicles. The picture alongside this paragraph only has moderne vehicles shown.

It's almost like this article is an advertising gimmick Lightingthewayau (talk) 00:15, 13 December 2023 (UTC)