Slide 1: Introduction.

            This chapter explains why the first vehicles were electric, and the reasons why they were relegated by internal combustion engines, and the five cars that explain the current market situation and the technological development of the electric vehicle.

Slide 2: Internal combustion engines.

         Today all cars would be electric.

            If at the beginning of the 20th century the decisions about the invention of the automobile had been based solely on technical and functional aspects and on safety and practicality for drivers.

         Combustion engines were a real challenge.

            In the early years of the last century, combustion engines needed constant adjustments, such as finding the right air-fuel mixture and ensuring proper lubrication. Additionally, they had confusing gear changing systems and complicated starting methods, such as using a crank.

            Added to that was having to sit on top of a flammable gasoline tank, the vibrations and rattles of the ride, the smoke and the noise of a device that did not go faster or reach further than the horses, which it was intended to replace.

         Carl Benz invented the first car with an internal combustion engine in January 1886.

            It maintained constant competition with other alternative technologies. While some options, such as water-based or compressed air engines, were more conceptual, there were two that really stood out.

            One of them was the steam engine, a robust and reliable technology that had demonstrated its superiority in industrial environments and in train transportation. However, its application in small and private vehicles presented several significant drawbacks: 45 minutes for the boiler to be adequately pressurized before it could be started and loaded with the supply of fuel, wood or coal, and water, which required refueling every few kilometers. The result, furthermore, was high consumption, with rates that could reach 3 liters per kilometer.

            As steam did not prove to be a viable option, during these initial years, electric vehicles appeared as the most logical alternative.

Slide 3: Electric vehicle.

         An established technology that was tested as early as 1830 to operate electric vehicles.

            On rails in countries like Scotland, the United States or Germany. In 1880, carriages were electrified, so that, approaching the end of the century, electrical technology had reached a level of maturity sufficient to be commercialized, even if it was only accessible to millionaires who used these vehicles in sports competitions or for short-distance urban travel.

         These first electric cars could not compete in speed and distance traveled with other types of cars.

            They offered significant advantages that offset these limitations. Silent operation, no odors or smoke, reliable and easy to use. A promising future that predicted that they would rule the market.

         In 1896 the first automobile competition was held.

            It was in the United States and among the six cars that competed, five were powered by gasoline and one, the winner, was powered by electricity. A few years later, with an electric vehicle, a French driver achieved the first recognized speed record. And just a few months later, in March 1899, Camile Jenatzi exceeded 100 km/h for the first time driving 'La Jamais Contente' 'the never satisfied'.

         In 1900 in the United States, there were 4,192 automobiles: 936 gasoline, 1,681 steam, and 1,575 electric, 38% of the total.

            During that same year, twelve American companies were dedicated to the production of electric cars with ranges of up to 70 kilometers and maximum speeds of 40 km/h. Figures considered appropriate for the time, especially in metropolises like New York, where up to half of the vehicles, including many taxis, were electric.

Slide 4: Electric vehicle.

         The key year for electric vehicles was 1912.

            33,482 electric vehicles were manufactured in the US, which only represented 9% of the total manufactured. And things got worse. Two years later, they barely represented 1% of total sales.

         Studebaker Electric's statement stopping its production sums up the situation.

            “We have ended electric car production in South Bend after nine years of little success, and it is clear that gasoline cars have proven superior.” This statement reflected the reality of the market at that time.

         The Mercedes Simplex, launched in 1902, marked a significant advance in the evolution of the internal combustion engine.

            Although it still required constant manual lubrication, compression in the cylinders had to be generated manually and needed a crank to start, with a heavy 40kg flywheel, the Simplex introduced a design and ease of handling and represented a radical change from the old horseless carriages.

         The finishing touch to the electric car came in 1908 with the Ford T.

            That marked a radical change in the industry. The reason was economic. With it, gasoline cars were accessible to the general public, offering much cheaper prices than those of electric cars, whose production costs were not reduced as quickly due to lack of economies of scale.

            The Model T consumed between 11 and 18 liters per 100 kilometers. Its 38-liter tank offered a range of more than 300 kilometers, that is, three times that of an electric vehicle of the time.

Slide 5: Electric vehicle.

         Four years later Charles Kettering patented an engine with an electric start.

            Cadillac installed it for the first time in a production car, thereby eliminating one of the last and most cumbersome sacrifices required by internal combustion engines: operating the starter crank before each trip. At the same time, the use of the silencer spread, which reduced the noise emitted by the exhaust pipes.

         Immense oil reserves were also located in the United States and other places.

            Which contributed to the stabilization of fuel prices. This coincided with a growth in refueling infrastructure and the development of the road network. The disadvantage of the range of electric vehicles was the key for most manufacturers to stop producing them.

         More than 100 years of waiting.

            Electricity was ruled out as an option to move private cars, relegating electric motors to use on railways, trams and trolleybuses. Despite the oil crises of the 1970s, which skyrocketed crude oil prices, the focus was on optimizing internal combustion engines, without energy alternatives gaining ground.

         The technological evolution in electric cars once again achieved notable results in the first half of the 1990s.

            Which was the starting signal for the reality we live in today.