The History of EVs: A 21st Century Timeline

December 30, 2010

The past decade has been the most significant ten-year period for EVs since the first ten years of the 20th century, when 38 percent of cars in 1900 were charging up, many with the aid of Thomas Edison-designed electric technology.

The renewed excitement that EVs garnered among carmakers in the late 1990s gave way to…almost nothing. But in the past few years, EVs have suddenly been reborn, and they’re now becoming a central aspect of development strategy for major car manufacturers. (Just today, Tesla Motors said that cheaper batteries will mean its $57,000 Model S sedan, which uses cells like those in laptops, can turn a profit with fewer unit sales).

We recently showed a timeline of GE’s own research and experiments with EVs over the last 40 years. And in 2010, we’ve seen our own work accelerate in new battery breakthroughs for trucks and buses; partnerships with tech leaders such as battery-maker A123 Systems and battery-switching pioneer Better Place; a new battery factory being built in upstate New York, purchases of EVs on a fleet-wide scale; sleek new WattStation EV chargers; and even advanced R&D into electric flight — just to name a few.

With 2010 coming to a close, we take a step back and look at how the EV industry has radically changed in just a few short years as technology and vision have caught up with each other. The result has been the epic rise of EVs in the last ten years:

Fast times: Click the image. Once it opens in a new window, use your browser’s zoom icon to enlarge it.

* Read more electric vehicle stories on GE Reports

Martin O’Kane

Yes, EVs to the fast lane of Silicon Valley highways is happening. With the launch of the Leaf and Volt, we’re beginning to see the flow of contracts for EVSE installations. Once the permits are issued, our first customers will be ready to roll….
James Claeys

When I visited the National Automobile Museum in Reno, on exhibit were a number of battery powered electric vehicles from the early 1900′s. The idea has been around a long time. We’ll see if get traction a hundred years later.
J. Scott Price

Note on history: in New York City, NY, aaround the turn of the last century, there were as many electric vehicles as internal combustion, and other-powered vehicles! My first job out of college was to drive and demonstrate an 1 ton capacity all-electric delivery van with lead acid deep-discharge batteries for the LIA (Lead Industries of America). In the 70′s Cupertino, CA was the site of a US Postal Service large-fleet trial of electric vehicles for letter carrier delivery of USPS mail. The newer technology has many energy-to-weight advantages; vehicles are lighter so ranges can be longer. The real advantage: quiet at traffic light stops, reduced consumption in stop-and-go urban environments, and reduced emissions at point of consumption. Overall energy efficiency–I’m sure there are careful analyses being done or completed.
Ted Jordan

The movie “Who killed the electric car” works as entertainment, but it fails as a documentary because it only tells one side of the story. Does anyone know of a source for the rest of the story? What was the strategy behind GM’s decisioin to take all the EV-1′s off the road the refusal to allow private ownership?
Harry L

As part of the Olympics year I was looking at the history of the Olympics and found that at the Paris Olympics in 1900 there were automobile events. Included in the results were the “Taxi – Electric – 300km” race and ”Delivery Van – 500 to 1200kg – Electric – 300km”.

Also third place in the “Small Truck – Over 1000kg – 300km” went to an American Riker Electric vehicle.

It seems incredible that in 110 years very little progress has been made.