The world's first electric cars

EVs and battery-operated cars have been around a lot longer than you might think...

Almost every major car maker now offers an electrified model in its range.

It seems one day you won’t be able to go out and buy new a car powered by anything else. But contrary to popular belief, electric vehicles (EVs) have been with us since the dawn of the car.

Electric power was a serious rival for the internal combustion engine during the infancy of the motoring age. Here are the landmark cars that helped the EV on its path to where it is today, listed in chronological order:

Morrison (1890)

Morrison was the second company to build an electric car in the USA, but it was the first to sell this type of vehicle commercially. Produced in Des Moines, Iowa, the Morrison Electric looked more like a horse carriage but it had 24 batteries onboard with an output of 112 amps.

It took 10 hours to charge and could drive for up to 100 miles before being recharged. The Scottish-born William Morrison was a chemist by profession, but was fascinated by cars and electricity and so became a pioneer of both technologies. However, it was the various patents that he registered during this time of invention that made him a very rich man prior to his death in 1927.

Baker Electric (1899)

Baker is one of the most significant early names in the electric vehicle world and its first model was a two-seater. It’s notable for being the first car bought by Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and founder of General Electric. The early model range was made up of the Runabout and larger Stanhope, which sold a combined 800 cars in 1906 to make Baker the biggest EV maker of its time.

In 1910, the distinctive Baker Electric arrived with seating for four and a price of $2800. However, sales began to falter as Ford’s Model T spelt the end of the line for Baker, which was absorbed into the Rauch and Lang company in 1916.

Lohner Porsche (1900)

As Porsche moves into a new age of electric models, it’s fitting the company’s roots are based in this technology with the Lohner-Porsche. It was developed by Ferdinand Porsche for Jacob Lohner’s company that initially built coaches but soon moved into the burgeoning car market. The Lohner-Porsche used hub-mounted electric motors and lead acid batteries with 44 cells and 80 volts. It was extremely heavy as a result of this, but it was also one of the most impressive early automobiles and Dr Porsche himself used the car in competition to prove its abilities.

Flat out, the car could achieve a top speed of 37mph and it set several speed records in period before Porsche was tempted by a job at Daimler-Benz and moved away from electric cars. 120 years on, the company Dr Porsche started will shortly reveal its first EV production model, the Taycan.

Detroit Electric (1907)

The Detroit Electric was the Tesla of its day, taking the automobile world by storm in the USA and selling a very healthy 1000 cars per year in the early part of its life. Much of that success was down to demand from women who wanted a car that was simple to start, drive and clean, which was not always the case with gasoline-powered vehicles.

From the early highs, sales tapered through the 1920s for the Detroit Electric, though a few were built under licence in Scotland by Arrol-Johnston. Production ended in 1938, but the Detroit Electric name has been revived in recent years for a new EV project with a Lotus Elise-based model.

Edison-Ford (1914)

Thomas Edison was a leading light in every sense in the early use of electricity, but it’s less well known he tried to get an EV to market with help from Henry Ford. Even though Ford was busy with his Model T that used an internal combustion engine, Edison convinced his friend to develop an EV and prototypes were made and tested.

The first Edison car was rudimentary and had tiller steering, but a second prototype was based on a Model T chassis. By 1915, there were rumours the car would cost $500 when it went on sale, rivalling the Model T. However, the project stuttered to a halt when Edison’s battery packs were found to be too underpowered to cope with powering a car and Ford went back to focusing on his own vehicle company.

Wales & Edwards milk float (1951)

Several manufacturers offered electric milk floats in the UK after the Second World War, with Wales & Edwards (W&E) one of the first to market. It delivered its original battery-powered float to Roddington Dairy in 1951 and soon became one of the biggest names in the sector. Sales boomed and in 1952 United Dairies ordered 1250 floats from W&E.

The W&E float was popular because of its smooth running due to a rubber-bonded coupling that meant less rattling of the glass milk bottles. Also, the gearing of the electric motor to the wheels via a bevel shaft allowed this float to cope with poor road conditions where some rivals couldn’t. Eventually, W&E’s business was sold to rival Smith Electric Vehicles when sales slumped after supermarkets’ cheaper milk made home deliveries increasingly unviable.

Vectress (1959)

The Vectress came about as a way of promoting the batteries of George Lippincott, an American businessman. Using 12 4-volt nickel-silver batteries, the Vectress could drive for up to eight hours and 150 miles on a single charge and had its own onboard charger.

Top speed was 50mph, but Lippincott reckoned buyers would be drawn in by the car’s sleek looks. Launched in 1959, the Vectress was a handsome two-seat sports car with removeable hard-top roof and a price of $2000 (around just US$20,000 in 2019 money). However, the public preferred its big gasoline engines when fuel was cheap, so only the prototype Vectress was ever made. Which is a shame.

Henney Kilowatt (1960)

Henney was best known for its funeral cars in the shape of hearses and limousines, but in 1960 it decided to convert a Renault Dauphine to electric power. This became the Henney Kilowatt that used 36 2-volt batteries and a 7.5 HP motor. On a full charge, it could cover up to 60 miles. However, several problems halted success of the Kilowatt. First off, US customers were not keen on a car as small as the Renault and nor did they care for the limited range when fuel was cheap and plentiful.

The Kilowatt disappeared for the rest of the 1960s, though there was a brief effort to resurrect the car in the late 1970s that came to nothing.

Scottish Aviation Scamp (1964)

Similar in concept to the Enfield 8000, the Scottish Aviation Scamp pre-dated its rival by some five years. Developed at Prestwick, which is now a large airport near Glasgow, the Scamp had a top speed of 36mph and range of 18 miles. Even if this limited its practical use, the Central Electricity Generating Board in Scotland considered buying Scamps for its marketing potential and even race car driver Sir Stirling Moss drove one.

In the end, only 13 Scamps were made, consisting of a single prototype and 12 production models. The final nail in the Scamp’s coffin came when testing at the Motoring Industry Research Association showed up a serious flaw in the suspension that rendered the car unsafe for use on the road.

Ford Comuta (1967)

Ford of Britain decided it wanted in on the electric car market in 1967 and developed its Comuta. This used the same technology as found in a milk float, so the top speed was a mere 25mph and range maxxed out at 40 miles.

Designed as an experiment more than a production reality, the boxy two-seat Comuta was shown to the press at the company’s Dunton Technical Center in the UK and was finished to a high standard. However, only two Comutas were ever built and the project slipped into obscurity. One of the two prototypes is now in the Science Museum in London.

Enfield 8000 – 1969

Enfield took the bold step of launching its 8000 at a time when conventional fuel was still cheap. Had the firm ridden out early low sales that saw just 108 8000s built in total, it could have been a success during the fuel crises of the 1970s.

That wasn’t to be, so the two-seater 8000 plugged away for seven years before the company went under in 1976. Before that, 61 of its cars were bought by the British Electricity Council despite the considerable price of each car – an 8000 cost around twice as much as an MGB in 1972.

Some of that was down to the advanced specification that included independent front suspension, rack and pinion steering, sliding side doors and Dunlop Denovo run-flat tires.

NASA Lunar Roving Vehicle (1971)

One of the most famous vehicles in the world used electric power yet covered only a few miles in its short but illustrious career. The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) contract was awarded to Boeing in 1969 after a lot of development work had been conducted ahead of the Moon landings that same year.

By the time Boeing delivered the LRV, it had cost $38 million, equivalent to $240 million today, and four were built for testing and use. Three were sent to the Moon, one each for Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions. The other was used for spare parts after further Apollo space projects were cancelled.

The LRV itself weighed 462 lb and used an electric motor in each wheel to cope with the Moon’s uneven terrain. The silver-zine potassium hydroxide batteries were not rechargeable as the LRV was intended for a single use to help with scientific experiments on the Moon. The three LRVs sent to the moon are still on it, while a Smithsonian replica is on display at the Epcot Center at Walt Disney World in Florida.

Exide Sundancer (1973)

US battery manufacturer Exide decided to show off its wares with the Sundancer concept car. It aimed to prove electric cars didn’t have to be bland, worthy or boxy and did so to great effect with its low-slung wedge shape. A rear-hinged canopy allowed access to the laid-back two-seat cabin. Power came from 12 lead acid batteries and they fed an 8 HP motor that was claimed to give good performance up to 62mph and a 100-mile range.

Designed by former race mechanic Bob McKee, the Sundancer had a backbone chassis for strength that also allowed the batteries to stored in this space to keep weight low and centralised. Three Sundancers were built and the car was highly praised in contemporary road tests.

CitiCar (1974)

The CitiCar held the title for most electric cars sold in the USA right up until Tesla launched the Model S. With 4444 built, this tiny two-seater was aimed squarely at those wanting a low-cost urban runabout. Produced in Sebring, Florida, its angular styling made it cheap to build as there were no curves.

A 2.5 HP motor was used to begin with, but was replaced by a 3.5 HP electric motor later in life and the last few CitiCars came with a giddy 6 HP engine. Buyers had a choice of six or eight lead acid batteries, giving a range of up to 60 miles on a single charge.

Zagato Zele (1974)

Zagato is best known for its sleek svelte sports cars, but the Zele was an attempt to tap into the need for affordable urban cars in the early 1970s. A growing awareness of environmental issues should have made the Zele a bit hit. It was also sold as the Elcar in the USA, but in the end only around 500 of all types were ever sold.

The suspension was borrowed from the Fiat 500 and customers could specify four, six or eight batteries for a range of up to 50 miles. Most were two-seaters, but the US importer offered a stretched four-seat model known as the Wagonette.

Sinclair C5 (1985)

Sir Clive Sinclair (1940-2021) revolutionised the world of home computers in the UK and he intended to do the same for low-cost commuter vehicles with the C5. It mixed pedal power and an electric motor to give a top speed of 15mph and a range of up to 20 miles depending on how much work the driver was prepared to put in with their legs.

The problems for the C5 started right from its launch, though, which unwisely took place in winter and showed the small wheels and tires couldn’t cope with slippery roads. Riders also complained about how vulnerable they felt on the road and the electric motor was prone to overheating. In the end, the C5 sold 5000 examples, leaving Sinclair with 9000 unsold units; the company went bust.

GM EV1 (1996)

The General Motors EV1 was a car that was just a little bit too ahead of its time. An all-electric coupe built in response to the Californian Air Resources Board (CARB) ruling to make the seven largest car makers sell zero emissions vehicles, the EV1 was initially only sold in Los Angeles, as well as Phoenix and Tuscon in Arizona.

Customers could only lease the EV1 as GM treated the car as an experiment, but public reaction was favorable. However, car makers challenged the CARB ruling and the regulations were relaxed, leaving the EV1 out on a limb. A total of 1117 EV1 were produced, yet all but 40 were bought back and crushed by GM and the company faced criticism for cutting short the project from environmental campaigners and EV1 drivers.

However ill-starred it may be, the EV1 did mark a point where the (then) world's largest car marker made an electric car that it also leased to anyone who wanted one. After the EV1, more electric cars followed, but increasingly became real-world commercial propositions - so much so, that for the majority of readers of this feature, their first EV purchase is now on the horizon.

BY ALISDAIR SUTTIE