Progress and innovation: The history of electric car manufacturing

Over the past ten years, automotive manufacturers have been designing and developing innovative new EV technology at a rapid pace. And with some of the most famous manufacturers launching their new models later this year, the race to create the most eco-friendly and efficient vehicles is well and truly underway. In this article, Nothern Powergrid take a close look at the history of electric car manufacturing and make some predictions for their progress over the next decade.

EV’s: History in brief

Electric cars have been around longer than you might have thought. The first concept of the electric car was invented by innovators from the Netherlands, Hungary and the United States in the 1800s. By 1901, Thomas Edison worked on developing a better battery for the vehicles, thus creating the first hybrid electric car. Following crude oil’s drop in price in 1920, electric vehicles decreased in popularity and petrol and diesel models took control of the automobile market.

Improvements over time

Manufacturers have made leaps and bounds over the years when it comes to developing EV technology. There are currently over 150,000 electric cars on Britain’s roads and the amount of rapid charging connectors has hugely increased since 2011, including the introduction of CCS, Tesla, and Type2 connectors. While the average journey in the UK is 15 miles, electric cars have always brought with them the anxiety of breaking down or running out of ‘juice’ away from the chargers mentioned above. Maybe in the past they would only be capable of short distances, but currently you can expect a full charge to allow you to travel in the region of 200 miles. Better yet, 96% of motorway service stations can provide a rapid charging point, which will provide a 100% electric car with 80% power in 30 minutes.

What’s next? Predictions for the future

The impressive re-emergence of EV’s looks set to carry on. One main reason is the UK government’s projection to stop the sales of new petrol and diesel models by 2040. It also pledged that at least half of all new vehicles will be hybrid or electric by 2030 in its push to reduce vehicle emissions.

Nissan’s EV Manager, Ed Jones, said: “We’ve always known that Nissan’s EV technology can be used for so much more than just getting people from A-to-B and we’re delighted to be sharing our expertise to help create more sustainable energy networks in the UK. Through the integration of Nissan EVs, we can find new solutions that will help shape a society whose energy use is sustainable, efficient and affordable.”

Initiative like this support the drive to make electric charging points easier to find. There are three types of charging available: rapid, fast, and slow. Across the UK, we are noticing a continuous rise in locations to be able to charge electric vehicles. In November 2018, 596 ports were added, and this number is only going to rise in years ahead.

It’s clear that there are big things to come in the electric vehicle industry in the near future, which can only be a good thing. With companies now on board with the changes, and the public embracing the models, the electric vehicle industry is certainly heading in the right direction.

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Created on Mar 18th 2020 11:32. Viewed 422 times.

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