History and current status of full electric cars
①The history of full electric cars
In 1834, the Scotsman T. Davenport made an electric tricycle. It was driven by a set of non-rechargeable simple glass-encapsulated dry batteries and could only travel a short distance. In 1859, the French Plant ( C.Plante) invented the world’s first rechargeable battery, which laid the foundation for the later development of full electric cars. In 1881, French engineer C.Trouve used DC motors and rechargeable lead-acid batteries for private vehicles for the first time, and exhibited a practical operation at the International Electrical Exhibition held in Paris in the same year. The electric tricycle used, in 1885, nearly half a century after the advent of Devonbot’s electric tricycle, the German K. Benz invented a gasoline-powered car, which was patented on January 26, 1886 , Became a great innovation in human history. However, because full electric cars had a simpler structure than fuel vehicles at that time, and only had to be equipped with electric motors and batteries, it was easier to manufacture, while fuel vehicles at that time had poorer performance and difficult engine starting. Therefore, in the initial stage, full electric cars have been developed.
At the end of the 19th century, many companies in the United States, Britain and France began to produce full electric cars. The earliest full electric car manufacturer was an electric bus and truck company founded by Morris and Salom. Another relatively early full electric car manufacturer was Pope. Manufacturing company. By the end of 1898, Pope had produced about 500 Columbia-type fully electric cars. From 1896 to 1920, the Riker full electric car Company produced a variety of different types of full electric cars. Among them, the Victoria produced in 1897 was a well-designed model. In addition to the full electric car manufacturer in the United States, the London Electric Vehicle The taxi company produced 15 electric taxis in 1897, and the French BGS company also produced several different types of commercial full electric cars from 1899 to 1906, including cars, trucks, buses and luxury cars. In 1899, the electric drive car Jamais Contente driven by Belgian Camille Jenatzy achieved a speed of over 100km/h for the first time.
1895-1915 was the golden age of early full electric cars. In 1900, 38% of the 4,200 vehicles sold in the United States were full electric cars, 22% were fuel vehicles, and 40% were steam engine vehicles. At that time, full electric cars It is a means of transportation for financial giants and a symbol of wealth.
After entering the 20th century, due to the discovery of a large number of oil fields, oil extraction and refining and the rapid advancement of internal combustion engine technology, full electric cars have been gradually replaced by fuel vehicles due to the slow progress of battery technology and difficulty in competing with fuel vehicles in terms of performance and price. In 1911, Kettering invented the automobile engine starter, which made fuel vehicles more attractive, and since then broke the dominance of full electric cars in the market, and the emergence of Ford Motor Company almost completely stopped the development of full electric cars. By the 1830s, full electric cars had almost disappeared.
It was not until the 1970s and 1980s that the oil crisis and air pollution prompted people to rekindle their hopes for full electric cars.
②The status quo of full electric cars
In the early 1970s, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan began to develop full electric cars. In the late 1970s, companies in many countries and regions in the world began to develop full electric cars. However, oil prices began to fall in the late 1970s. Before full electric cars became commercial products, the energy crisis and oil The shortage is no longer serious, so the commercialization of full electric cars has lost momentum, and the development of full electric cars has slowed down significantly, and has begun to enter a trough again.
In the 1980s, due to people’s increasing attention to the impact of air quality and the greenhouse effect, the development of full electric cars regained vitality. In the early 1990s, some countries and cities began to implement stricter emission regulations. In 1990, the United States The California Atmospheric Resources Administration (CARS) has issued a regulation stating that 2% of cars sold in California in 1998 must be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), and by 2003, 10% of zero-emission vehicles should be reached. Affected by California regulations, other states in the United States and other countries in the world have begun to formulate similar regulations. full electric car technology is considered to be the only available technology that meets zero emission standards, so full electric cars have developed rapidly.
While automakers continue to promote the development of full electric car technology, they have begun to commercialize full electric cars. Around the world, especially in the United States, Japan and Europe, many automobile manufacturers have begun to produce full electric cars or involved in the field of full electric cars, such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler in the United States, etc., which play a very important role in the development of full electric cars. Role: In Japan, almost all automobile manufacturers, such as Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Daihatsu, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Isuzu, have formulated their own commercial full electric car development plans; European ones Many countries, especially France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom have launched full electric car development plans. Among them, the more active car companies are Citroen, Renault, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Volkswagen, Opel and Fiat. In addition to automobile manufacturers, there are also some electric power companies and battery manufacturers that also play an active role in the development of full electric cars. Their purpose is to promote the commercialization of full electric cars powered by rechargeable batteries, and finally obtain Commercial interests. Usually they cooperate with car manufacturers to develop full electric cars, or purchase full electric cars for battery evaluation and demonstration. Although at this stage, full electric cars have received the attention of major companies, but because power electronics has not yet been established, there is no sound scientific theory as a guide, and there is a lack of high-tech power electronic devices for use, especially at that time Almost only lead-acid batteries are available for use, and lead-acid batteries are large in size, heavy in mass, low in energy density, low in power density, long charging time and shorter driving range each time they are fully charged, plus the manufacturing cost of the electric drive system Excessive factors such as high levels hinder the large-scale development of full electric cars.
Since 2000, as countries have continuously increased their investment in full electric car technology research and development, major progress has been made in bottleneck technologies such as vehicle power batteries, motors and their control systems. The wide application of power electronics, control and information technology has promoted full electric cars. In-depth technology development and perfection, the reliability and life of products have been significantly improved, and the cost has been effectively controlled. full electric car technology has been rapidly developed around the world. A batch of full electric cars equipped with advanced power batteries have entered or is about to enter consumer market.
