With the UK’s electric vehicle revolution well underway due to the governments zero-emissions targets, we look into the history and evolution of electric cars.

1. THE EVOLUTION OF
ELECTRIC CARS
1828-1835
While you may think it's a modern invention, the electric car actually
has an interestingly long history.
Early 1900's
1930's
1960's-1980's
1990's
2010
Present day
Ever heard of Robert Anderson? While horse and
carriage was the main mode of transport he was
credited with developing the first electric carriage,
a whole half a century before petrol fuelled cars!
In 1900 a third of US vehicles were electric. Henry
Ford was reported to be working on a "cheap and
practical" electric automobile which "will run for
100 miles", but later abandoned the project as gas
fulled cars began to take over.
By the 30's the rise in demand for the mass-
produced, gas-fuelled Ford Model T meant that
few battery powered vehicles were left on the
roads. Gas became readily available in the US
until...
...gas prices soared creating an interest in electric
vehicles once again. NASA's Lunar Rover became
the first manned vehicle to drive on the moon and
ran on electricity, giving electric vehicles an extra
boost in popularity. General Motors developed a
prototype for an urban electric car.
Governments tightened emission requirements for
vehicles, forcing car companies to look at
alternative fuel. The first mass-produced hybrids to
go on sale were the Toyota Prius and Honda
Insight. They were powered by lithium-ion
batteries, which were later used in smart phones
and Tesla cars.
The Nissan Leaf went on sale, becoming the
world's best-selling electric car.
Today there are many options when buying an
electric vehicle, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids
and all-electric. However, the capabilities of the
lithium-ion battery is limited, so car
manufactures are currently tasked with finding a
new battery formulation as a more dependable
replacement.
More money is being invested into charging stations
to make electric cars a more viable option and
grants and benefits are also available to
incentivise consumers.
Sources: FordMotorCo./Flickr, Nasa.gov, Blog.toyota.co.uk