#Volt energy series#

New York City even had a fleet of more than 60 electric taxis. Over the next few years, electric vehicles from different automakers began popping up across the U.S. His six-passenger vehicle capable of a top speed of 14 miles per hour was little more than an electrified wagon, but it helped spark interest in electric vehicles. Here in the U.S., the first successful electric car made its debut around 1890 thanks to William Morrison, a chemist who lived in Des Moines, Iowa. And while Robert Anderson, a British inventor, developed the first crude electric carriage around this same time, it wasn’t until the second half of the 19th century that French and English inventors built some of the first practical electric cars. In the early part of the century, innovators in Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States - including a blacksmith from Vermont - began toying with the concept of a battery-powered vehicle and created some of the first small-scale electric cars.

#Volt energy series#

Instead it was a series of breakthroughs - from the battery to the electric motor - in the 1800s that led to the first electric vehicle on the road. It’s hard to pinpoint the invention of the electric car to one inventor or country. Travel back in time with us as we explore the history of the electric car.

With this growing interest in electric vehicles, we are taking a look at where this technology has been and where it’s going.

Currently more than 3 percent of new vehicle sales, electric vehicles sales could to grow to nearly 7 percent - or 6.6 million per year - worldwide by 2020, according to a report by Navigant Research. Whether it’s a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or all-electric, the demand for electric drive vehicles will continue to climb as prices drop and consumers look for ways to save money at the pump.

Introduced more than 100 years ago, electric cars are seeing a rise in popularity today for many of the same reasons they were first popular.