The first electric car: history and origins from 1834 to today
Jan 23, 2026
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First electric car: the little-known history of a revolutionary invention
The first electric car was not a 21st-century invention. As early as 1834, American Thomas Davenport designed an electrically powered vehicle, followed by Scotsman Robert Anderson and his prototypes of electric carriages. However, it was the Frenchmen Gaston Planté and Camille Faure who made these vehicles viable thanks to the invention of the rechargeable battery in 1859. In 1884, the British inventor Thomas Parker posed for the first known photograph of an electric car. In 1899, the Jamais Contente became the first vehicle in the world to exceed 100 km/h. At that time, nearly 38% of the American automotive market was electric. This dominance collapsed with the arrival of the Ford Model T and the invention of the electric starter in 1912, before being reborn a century later with the Nissan Leaf in 2010.
The pioneers of the electric car: there is no single inventor
The history of the electric car is not written around a single name. It is built on a succession of visionary inventors on both sides of the Atlantic who laid the foundations for electric mobility. This often overlooked timeline reveals that the electrification of transport preceded the golden age of the internal combustion engine by several decades.
Robert Anderson and Thomas Davenport: the very first prototypes
Around 1830, Scottish businessman Robert Anderson designed a carriage equipped with an electromagnet motor powered by non-rechargeable batteries. This rudimentary prototype laid the foundations for the concept of the electric vehicle. A few years later, in 1834, American Thomas Davenport developed the first industrially usable direct current electric motor. He installed it on a kind of miniature locomotive that ran on rails, creating the first functional electric vehicle in history.
In 1835, in the Netherlands, Sibrandus Stratingh developed a small-scale experimental electric car in Groningen. These pioneers shared a common limitation: the absence of rechargeable batteries. Their vehicles ran on batteries that had to be replaced once they were depleted. This technical constraint significantly slowed the development of electric cars for several decades.
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France at the heart of the revolution: Gaston Planté and Camille Faure
France played a decisive role in the rise of the electric car thanks to two major inventors. In 1859, physicist Gaston Planté invented the rechargeable lead-acid battery, an innovation that radically transformed the prospects for the electric car. For the first time, a vehicle could be recharged rather than requiring a complete replacement of its energy source.
In 1881, chemical engineer Camille Faure significantly improved this technology by increasing the storage capacity of batteries. That same year, electrical engineer Gustave Trouvé unveiled an electric tricycle at the International Electricity Exhibition in Paris. Charles Jeantaud, Nicolas Raffard, and Camille Alphonse also presented La Tilbury, an electric car with batteries placed under the seat. These French innovations paved the way for the commercialization of the first viable electric vehicles.
Thomas Parker: the first photo of an electric car (1884)
In 1884, British engineer Thomas Parker appeared in what is believed to be the first known photograph of an electric car. Seated in an electric carriage in Wolverhampton, UK, Parker embodies the transition from experimental prototype to functional vehicle. His company, Elwell-Parker, manufactures batteries and dynamos that also power Britain's first electric tramway in Blackpool in 1885.
Thomas Parker worked on improving the lead-acid battery invented by Gaston Planté and filed a patent in 1882. Nicknamed "the Edison of Europe" by Lord Kelvin, he went on to participate in the electrification of the London Underground. His work demonstrated that the electric car was no longer a laboratory curiosity but a technology ready for commercialization. In 1891, American William Morrison built the first "real" electric car in Des Moines, capable of carrying six passengers at 23 km/h.
The golden age of electric carriages: when electric power dominated the market
At the end of the 19th century, three modes of propulsion shared the nascent automobile market: the gasoline engine, the electric motor, and the steam engine. Contrary to popular belief, electric power was the dominant force at the time, particularly in urban areas where its intrinsic qualities worked wonders.
In 1900, of the 4,192 vehicles manufactured in the United States, 1,575 were electric, 936 were gasoline-powered, and 1,681 were steam-powered. Electric vehicles accounted for 38% of the American automotive market at the time. There were many reasons for this success: immediate start-up without a crank, quiet operation, no smell or smoke, and easy driving without gear changes. These advantages were particularly appealing to a wealthy, urban clientele.
Electric taxis conquer New York and Paris
By 1897, the first electric taxis were crisscrossing the streets of New York. The New York Electric Cab and Carriage Service, later the Electric Vehicle Company, established itself as one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers, producing 1,500 cars in 1900, mainly for taxi service. These vehicles gradually replaced horse-drawn carriages in large cities.
In Paris, a competition for horse-drawn carriages organized in 1898 was won hands down by electric cars. Camille Jenatzy, a Belgian engineer, created the Compagnie Générale des Transports Automobiles to produce electric horse-drawn carriages and vans for the streets of Paris. In 1901, the French postal service adopted the Mildé, an electric car manufactured in Levallois-Perret with a range of 50 km at 15 km/h, for mail delivery. Between 1897 and 1909, the companies Jeantaud, Kriéger, and Mildé offered a complete range of electric vehicles on the French market.
La Jamais Contente: the first vehicle to exceed 100 km/h
April 29, 1899 marked a turning point in the history of the automobile. On the main road of the Achères agricultural park in the Yvelines, a torpedo-shaped electric car set out to break all records. La Jamais Contente, driven by Belgian engineer Camille Jenatzy, became the first land vehicle to break the symbolic 100 km/h barrier, reaching precisely 105.88 km/h.
This performance smashed the previous record held by Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat in an electric Jeantaud (92.78 km/h). The rivalry between these two men had fueled a series of races since 1898, with each regularly beating the other's record. Jenatzy, nicknamed the "Red Devil" for his red beard, ended this duel with a revolutionary racing car.
A revolutionary design for its time
The Jamais Contente embodied the technical innovation of its time. Its shell-shaped body, manufactured by Rothschild & Fils in Levallois, used partinium, a particularly light alloy of aluminum, tungsten, and magnesium. Two Postel-Vinay electric motors with a combined output of 68 horsepower (approximately 50 kW) powered the vehicle. Fulmen lead batteries accounted for 750 kg of the total weight of 1.5 tons.
Another unique feature was that all four wheels were the same size and fitted with Michelin tires. The vehicle had no steering wheel or traditional brakes, but instead a steering lever and a manual accelerator. This aerodynamic design, although imperfect due to the driver's elevated position, foreshadowed future record-breaking vehicles. The Jamais Contente is now on display at the National Museum of Cars and Tourism in Compiègne.
The lost battle against the combustion engine: why electric cars disappeared
At the beginning of the 20th century, despite its performance and popularity, the electric car began an irreversible decline in the face of the internal combustion engine. Several factors converged to seal its fate for nearly a century.
The Ford Model T and cheap gasoline
In 1908, Henry Ford launched the Model T, symbolizing a new era in the automotive industry. Assembly line production drastically reduced costs: a gasoline-powered vehicle cost $1,500 in 1900, but three times less in 1914. Electric cars, confined to a luxury niche market, could not compete with these prices. At the same time, the discovery of large oil deposits made fuel abundant and cheap. Improvements in road infrastructure allowed gasoline-powered cars to venture beyond urban limits, where the limited range of batteries penalized electric cars.
1912: the invention of the electric starter sounded the death knell
The major advantage of electric cars was their ease of starting, compared to the formidable crank handles of combustion engine vehicles, which had broken so many arms. In 1912, Charles Kettering invented the electric starter (the Delco), which was adopted by Cadillac that same year. This innovation eliminated the main drawback of gasoline-powered cars and took away the electric car's most compelling selling point.
Battery manufacturers, noting the evolution of the market, stopped improving their products for propulsion and turned to the production of batteries for igniting gasoline engines. In the mid-1920s, the American automotive industry produced 400 electric vehicles compared to more than 3 million gasoline-powered vehicles. A leader such as Detroit Electric, which manufactured several thousand cars a year in the 1910s, ceased production for good in 1939.
The rebirth of electric cars: from the oil crisis to the Nissan Leaf
Electric cars never completely disappeared. Throughout the 20th century, projects emerged in response to energy crises and technological developments, paving the way for the current revolution.
1973-1996: the oil crisis and the General Motors EV1
In 1973, the first oil crisis and the OPEC embargo on the United States reignited interest in electric propulsion. As early as 1966, the US Congress had already recommended the construction of electric vehicles to reduce air pollution. Prototypes were developed: the American CitiCar in 1974 reached 48 km/h and had a range of 64 km. Renault developed an electric version of the R5 that was never marketed.
In 1990, California passed the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Act, requiring manufacturers to offer zero-emission vehicles. General Motors responded with the EV1 in 1996, the first modern electric car to be mass-produced by a major manufacturer. Despite enthusiasm from users, the program was abandoned in 2003 under pressure from the oil industry. However, these commercial failures mask major technological advances, particularly in lithium-ion batteries.
2010: the Nissan Leaf launches the modern electric revolution
In December 2010, Nissan launched the Leaf in Japan, Europe, and North America. This compact, 100% electric sedan became the first mass-produced electric vehicle for the general public worldwide. With its 24 kWh lithium-ion battery offering a range of 160 km and its 80 kW (109 hp) motor, it made electric vehicles accessible to the masses. Voted European Car of the Year 2011 and World Car of the Year 2011, the Leaf proved that the market was ready for electrification.
Since then, Leaf sales have exceeded 500,000 units worldwide. European manufacturers have invested heavily in electrification: Renault with the Zoe, Peugeot with the e-208 and e-2008 range, and Volkswagen with the ID family. The historical problem that doomed electric vehicles at the beginning of the 20th century, the lack of charging infrastructure, has now been solved thanks to fast-charging station networks such as Electra, which allow drivers to recharge hundreds of kilometers of range in just a few minutes.
Timeline of the electric car: six key dates
From 1834 to 2010, the history of the electric car spans nearly two centuries of innovation, hope, and rebirth. Here are the major milestones in this technological epic.
Year | Event |
1834 | Thomas Davenport invents the first direct current electric motor and creates a miniature electric locomotive in the United States. |
1859 | Frenchman Gaston Planté invents the rechargeable lead-acid battery, enabling the development of viable electric vehicles. |
1899 | Camille Jenatzy's Jamais Contente breaks the 100 km/h barrier in Achères (105.88 km/h), setting the first land speed record. |
1912 | Charles Kettering invents the electric starter (Delco), eliminating the advantage of the electric car and hastening its decline. |
1996 | General Motors launches the EV1, the first modern electric car mass-produced by a major manufacturer. |
2010 | Nissan launches the Leaf, the world's first mass-market electric vehicle, voted Car of the Year 2011. |
The legacy of pioneers: what we owe to the inventors of the 19th century
Today's electric vehicles are the direct descendants of the innovations of Gaston Planté, Camille Faure, Thomas Parker, and Camille Jenatzy. The fundamental principle remains the same: storing electrical energy in batteries to power a motor. Since then, progress has been made in energy density, charging speed, and battery life, but the concept has not changed since 1859.
The issues of range and recharging, which doomed the electric car at the beginning of the 20th century, have now been solved. Manufacturers are offering models capable of traveling 400 to 600 km on a single charge, while ultra-fast charging networks allow 80% of the battery to be recharged in less than 30 minutes. To locate charging stations on your route, consult the interactive network map.
The history of the electric car teaches us that the most efficient technology does not always prevail. Economic choices, available infrastructure, and public policy play a decisive role. Today, with carbon neutrality targets and the rise of renewable energies, the conditions are right for electric vehicles to regain the position they held in 1900. To learn more about this topic and discover the latest models, check out our comprehensive guide to electric cars.
Written by Nicolas, Electra mobility expert
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