Electric vehicles have been around for years, although the general public think that the electric-powered vehicles is a recent discovery. This is because only in recent years this type of vehicle has become more widely known because it is considered as a possible alternative to vehicles powered by combustion engines in an effort to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming.

An electrically powered car small-scale model was found in 1828 in Hungary is considered by many as the first electric vehicles were created. Others consider the electric-powered train was invented in the 1830s in Scotland by Robert Anderson as the first electric-powered vehicles. Other small-scale electric car designed by Professor Stratingh and built by Christopher Becker, his assistant, in the Netherlands in 1835. Thomas Davenport is also building a small electric car in 1835. He also invented the first DC motor built in the U.S..

Unfortunately, battery technology is not advanced enough to justify further development of this type of vehicle at the time. Not until the 1890s that the first passenger electric vehicle that was built by William Morrison in the U.S.. Even in the years 1899 and 1900 sold more electric vehicles than other types of vehicles such as gasoline and steam-powered vehicles in the U.S..

In the 1900′s electric powered vehicles had many advantages as compared to their competitors. They didn’t have the smell, vibration as well as noise as did the gasoline vehicles. Also, changing gears on gasoline vehicles was the most complicated part of driving, while electrical automobiles did not require gear changes. Steam-powered cars additionally had no gear shifting, but they suffered from long start-up times of up to 45 minutes on cold early mornings.

Steam vehicles had less range before requiring water than an electric vehicle’s range on a single charge. The best roads of the period were in town, restricting most travel to local commuting, which was well suitable for electric vehicles, since their range was limited. The electric car was the preferred alternative of many because it did not require to manually turn the hand crank to start the engine as the gasoline vehicles needed and there was no wrestling with a gear shifter to change gears.

During World War I, the cost of petrol went through the roof contributing to the popularity of electric cars. This lead to the development of the Detroit Electric which started production in 1907. The car’s range between battery recharging was about 130km (80 miles). The range depended on exactly what type of battery came with the vehicle. The typical Detroit Electric was actually powered by a rechargeable lead acid battery, which did exceptionally well in cold weather.

But the popularity of the electric car quickly came to an end. With better roads being built not only within cities, but also connecting them, the need for longer range vehicles grew. This made the electric car an impractical means of transportation. Also the newly discovered oil in the state of Texas in the US which brought the price of gas down considerably, along with the electric starter invention in 1912 which eliminated the need for a hand crank, made the gasoline vehicle the vehicle of choice. And with Henry Ford making them extremely affordable to the general public by mass producing them, the fate of the electric vehicle was sealed for many years.

It wasn’t until the 1990′s that electric vehicles started resurfacing. With the Global warming issue, the exorbitant prices of imported crude oil and legislation for smog reduction in cities, electric vehicles not only resurfaced but this time are here to stay. One of the main reasons contributing to the re-birth of the electric car is the advance in battery technology. The lithium-ion battery packs and the nickel metal hybrid battery packs are much lighter than previous batteries and can hold enough charge to power a vehicle for 100′s of Miles at high speeds between charges making electrical vehicles efficient and practical.