Electric vehicles - from mainstream to niche and back?

摘要

In the early 1900s, electric vehicles were mainstream. Electric motors and lead-acid storage batteries were mature technologies in contrast to the more recently developed internal combustion engine. Electric drive had everything going for it: maximum torque from standstill, no need for a multi-ratio gearbox, silence, lack of fumes, no flammable fuel, simplicity of design and construction.