INTERVIEW
TO EVEN THE most ardent electric motoring convert , the name Ányos Jedlik may not mean anything .
A Hungarian inventor , Jedlik is widely accepted to have built the world ’ s first electric car and , given the very recent hype and attention now generated by electromobility , it is somewhat surprising to discover that this was as far back as 1828 .
Other electric vehicle contraptions quickly followed , for example in 1830s Vermont , USA , where Thomas Davenport built another electrified car which operated on a track . However , by the turn of the 20th century , public interest had waned , largely due to high production costs and limited research progress , coupled with internal combustion engine breakthroughs championed by the likes of Henry Ford .
Even the attempt by General Motors in the 1990s to revive interest in electric fell away , this after making around 1,000 models with 140 miles of range . However , fast-forward to the rise of Tesla from 2008 and the decade since , and the picture looks more optimistic . Indeed , such is the rapid advancement of battery technology that all major car manufacturers have joined the electric race , and in a big way .
8 December 2017