2012/09/01 by Massimo Guarnieri · 1 citation
Engineering · Chemistry · #Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure #Steam engine #Internal combustion engine #Combustion #Electric motor #Automotive engineering #Automotive industry #Battery (electricity) #General motors #Engineering #Electrical engineering #Manufacturing engineering #Mechanical engineering #Aerospace engineering #Physics #Chemistry #Power (physics)
paper · pdf · doi:10.1109/histelcon.2012.6487583
openalex publication_date 2012/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Very early experimental electric cars appeared just after electromagnetism was discovered, in 1820. During the nineteenth century they underwent improvements, staying in advance of internal combustion engines. A breakthrough came with the inventions of the rechargeable battery and of powerful and efficient electric motors, around 1870. Electrics peaked around the turn of the century, when they hold 38% of the automobile market in the US, compared with 40% of steam and 22% internal combustion. Their decline started in the second decade of the twentieth century when the internal combustion engine had a major boost, thanks to important advancements in the infrastructure, product and production technologies.