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*electric vehicles apparently have been produced for commercial uses since the 1900s
In fact, electric vehicles are the OG. There's a whole thing on that topic ranging from actual history to conspiracy theories, but yeah. This is not a bad read. The whole thing is fascinating.
Here is an early e-bike - 10 to 25 miles, max speed 9mph, by English inventors William Ayrton and John Perry. Yes, it has electric lights built-in:
1882! The Cutty Sark was in active duty and relatively young at that point.
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Having the privilege to be brought up in the glory that is Ruislip,
electric milk floats were the norm, as we were just down the road from the head office of Express Dairies, in South Ruislip.
Imagine my bewilderment, on going to secondary school, in furthest Ickenham, to find a local farm offered daily milk deliveries from a diesel Transit? -
why it has taken 60 or more years for us to implement this into mainstream cars
Because mainstream cars need range - or, at least, their users think they do - and historically battery / electric systems couldn't deliver this as efficiently as ICE motors could for various boring historical reasons, whilst populations generally weren't aware of, or didn't care about, air quality.
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why it has taken 60 or more years for us to implement this into mainstream cars
Energy density. Making slow electric vehicles with a very limited range is easy. Selling slow electric vehicles with a very limited range to potential customers, who could buy a much faster ICE car with effectively unlimited range instead, is hard.
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@alsoPhilDAS
It occurred to me yesterday that since I can remember, milk floats were always electric so I figured they must have been made at least 25 years ago. I've just looked it up and they began to become mainstream in the 40s*!
I understand they would have had low speed and small ranges but can anyone explain to me why it has taken 60 or more years for us to implement this into mainstream cars when seemingly we could have had electric vehicles in urban environments decades ago?
*electric vehicles apparently have been produced for commercial uses since the 1900s