The first electric car was built in the 1880s, not recently

The earliest electric vehicles appeared in the 1880s, decades before gasoline cars became common. A Scottish inventor named Robert Anderson built a crude electric carriage around 1832, but it had no rechargeable battery. The first practical electric car with a rechargeable battery came in the 1880s — various inventors in France, Britain, and the United States were building them at roughly the same time. By the 1900s, electric cars outsold gasoline cars in the United States, and they stayed popular until the 1920s, when mass production of cheap gasoline engines made them obsolete.

The reason electric cars disappeared for nearly a century has nothing to do with the technology being impossible. It has to do with cost, range, and the discovery of cheap oil. Once Henry Ford's assembly line made gasoline cars affordable to ordinary people, and once oil became plentiful and inexpensive, electric cars could not compete. The batteries of that era were heavy, expensive, and slow to recharge — the same problems that slowed electric car adoption until the 2000s.

Key Takeaways

  • The first practical electric car with a rechargeable battery was built in the 1880s by inventors working independently in multiple countries.
  • Electric cars outsold gasoline cars in the United States around 1900 and remained popular through the 1910s.
  • Electric cars disappeared from the market in the 1920s because gasoline became cheap and Henry Ford's assembly line made gasoline cars affordable to ordinary people.
  • The same battery problems that killed electric cars in the 1920s — weight, cost, and slow recharge time — persisted until lithium-ion battery technology improved in the 2000s.

Who built the first electric cars in the 1880s

Several inventors were building electric vehicles at nearly the same time in different countries. In France, Gustave Trouvé built an electric tricycle in 1881. In Britain, Thomas Parker built an electric car around 1884. In the United States, Charles Jeantaud and William Morrison were both building electric vehicles in the mid-1880s. None of these inventors knew about each other's work — the technology was straightforward enough that multiple people arrived at the same idea independently.

These early cars used lead-acid batteries, the same type still used in gasoline cars today to start the engine. The batteries were heavy and stored very little energy compared to their weight, so the cars were slow and had a short range. A typical electric car of the 1880s could travel 30 to 40 miles on a single charge and had a top speed of 20 miles per hour. Despite these limits, they were quieter and easier to drive than gasoline cars, which required hand-cranking to start and had no electric starter.

Why electric cars outsold gasoline cars around 1900

In the early 1900s, electric cars were the preferred choice for city driving, especially among wealthy women and urban professionals. They were silent, they did not require hand-cranking, and they were reliable for short trips around town. Gasoline cars were loud, smelly, difficult to start, and prone to breaking down. In 1900, electric cars made up about one-third of all cars sold in the United States. By 1912, that number had risen to nearly one-half of all new cars sold.

The peak of electric car popularity came around 1912. That year, the Detroit Electric Car Company was one of the largest automakers in the country. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, invested heavily in electric car batteries and believed electric cars would eventually dominate the market. Wealthy people in cities preferred them to gasoline cars, and they were common sights on the streets of New York, Boston, and other major cities.

How the gasoline car won and electric cars disappeared

Three things happened between 1912 and 1925 that killed the electric car market. First, Henry Ford's assembly line made the Model T gasoline car so cheap that ordinary working people could afford one. A Model T cost around $260 in 1920, while an electric car cost $1,500 or more. Second, oil became abundant and inexpensive after large oil fields were discovered in Texas and Oklahoma. Gasoline was cheaper than ever, and people were willing to drive farther for work and leisure. Third, the electric starter motor was invented, which meant gasoline cars no longer required dangerous hand-cranking to start.

By 1920, electric cars had nearly vanished from the market. The last major electric car manufacturer in the United States, the Detroit Electric Car Company, stopped production in 1939. The combination of cheap gasoline, cheap gasoline cars, and longer driving distances made electric cars uncompetitive. The battery technology of the era could not improve fast enough to keep up with what people wanted — longer range, faster speeds, and lower cost.

Why electric cars returned in the 2000s

Electric cars did not return to the market until battery technology improved dramatically. For most of the 1900s, lead-acid batteries remained the only practical option, and they had the same problems they always had: they were heavy, expensive, and stored very little energy. In the 1990s and 2000s, lithium-ion batteries — the same type used in laptops and cell phones — became cheaper and more powerful. These batteries could store much more energy in a smaller, lighter package than lead-acid batteries.

The Toyota Prius, released in 1997, was the first mass-produced hybrid car, using both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. The first modern all-electric car sold to the public was the Tesla Roadster, released in 2008. It used lithium-ion batteries and could travel over 200 miles on a single charge, which was far better than any electric car since the 1920s. Since then, battery technology has continued to improve, and electric cars have become faster, cheaper, and more practical for everyday driving.

The timeline from 1880 to today

The history of the electric car spans more than 140 years, with a long gap in the middle when gasoline cars dominated. In the 1880s, inventors in multiple countries built the first practical electric vehicles. By 1900, electric cars were common in cities. By 1920, they had nearly disappeared. For the next 80 years, electric cars existed only in small numbers and were considered impractical. In the 1990s, battery technology improved enough to make electric cars practical again, and by the 2010s, major automakers were investing billions in electric car development.

Today, electric cars are becoming mainstream. In 2023, electric cars made up about 14 percent of new car sales in the United States, and that percentage is rising. The cycle has come full circle — electric cars are once again becoming a common choice for city driving, just as they were in 1910. The main difference is that modern electric cars are faster, more reliable, and have much longer range than the electric cars of the early 1900s.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was the first electric car really made before the first gasoline car?

The first practical electric car with a rechargeable battery came in the 1880s. The first practical gasoline car was built by Karl Benz in Germany in 1885 or 1886. So electric cars came first, or at least at the same time. However, gasoline cars became dominant much faster because they could travel farther and fuel was cheap and widely available.

Did Thomas Edison invent the electric car?

No, Thomas Edison did not invent the electric car, but he invested in improving the batteries used in them. Edison believed electric cars would eventually dominate the market and spent years trying to develop a better battery. His work did not succeed in time to save the electric car industry, which collapsed in the 1920s.

How far could the first electric cars travel?

The earliest electric cars from the 1880s could travel about 30 to 40 miles on a single charge. By 1912, when electric cars were at their peak, a typical electric car could travel 50 to 100 miles on a charge. This was enough for city driving but not for long trips, which is why they were most popular in cities.

Why did electric cars come back if gasoline cars were so much better?

Gasoline cars were not actually better — they were just cheaper and could travel farther. As oil became more expensive and people became concerned about pollution, electric cars became attractive again. The key difference was that lithium-ion batteries, invented in the 1990s, finally solved the battery problem that had plagued electric cars since the 1880s.