when was first electric car made

[VonBrantley]

The first true electric car was built in 1832 by Scottish inventor Robert Anderson. It was a crude carriage powered by non-rechargeable primary cells. However, the first practical, passenger-carrying electric car is credited to English inventor Thomas Parker, who built a prototype around 1884. The real dawn of electric vehicles (EVs) as we might recognize them came in the 1890s, with models like the Electrobat in the U.S. and the Parker in the U.K. gaining prominence.

This early era was actually the first golden age of EVs. Around 1900, electric cars were quite popular, especially in cities. They were quiet, clean, and easy to start compared to their noisy, hand-cranked gasoline rivals. In fact, they held significant market share. For example, of the 4,192 cars produced in the U.S. in 1900, 1,575 were steam-powered, 1,575 were electric, and only 936 were gasoline. EVs even set early land speed records.

Their popularity was short-lived, however. Key developments like the invention of the electric starter for gasoline engines (eliminating the dangerous hand crank), the discovery of vast Texas crude oil reserves which made gasoline cheap, and Henry Ford's mass production of the Model T, which slashed the price of gasoline cars, led to the rapid decline of electric cars by the 1920s. It would take nearly 70 years and environmental concerns for the technology to see a serious revival.

The timeline below highlights key milestones in the early history of the electric car.

Year	Inventor/Company	Vehicle/Event	Significance
1832	Robert Anderson	Electric-powered carriage	First crude electric vehicle; used non-rechargeable cells.
1835	Thomas Davenport	Small-scale electric railway	First practical application of an electric motor for transport.
1884	Thomas Parker	Prototype electric car	Built a more practical, production-feasible EV in London.
1890-91	William Morrison	Morrison Electric	First successful electric car in the U.S.; sparked public interest.
1897	Electric Vehicle Company	Electrobat & NYC Taxis	First commercial EV application; fleet of electric taxis in New York.
1899	Camille Jenatzy	La Jamais Contente	First road vehicle to break 100 km/h (62 mph) speed record; was an EV.
1900	Various	U.S. Auto Production	EVs accounted for approximately 38% of the U.S. auto market.
1901	Ferdinand Porsche	Lohner-Porsche Mixte	Created the first-ever hybrid electric vehicle.
1912	Charles Kettering	Electric Self-Starter	Invention for Cadillac made gasoline cars much safer and easier to start.
1910s	Henry Ford	Model T Mass Production	Gasoline car prices plummeted, making EVs uncompetitive.

[ChloeAnn]

Way earlier than most folks think! We're talking the 1830s. A guy in Scotland made a primitive electric carriage. But the ones that looked more like actual cars started popping up in the 1880s and 1890s. For a hot minute, they were even more popular than gas cars because they were quiet and didn't need a crank to start. It's a cool bit of history that got lost for decades.

[LilaFitz]

The timeline is fascinating. The foundational technology, like the electric motor, was demonstrated in small vehicles in the 1830s. The key period for a recognizable "car" was the 1880s-1890s with pioneers like Thomas Parker. This led to a brief period of commercial success around 1900, where EVs held a substantial market share before being overtaken by the rise of inexpensive, mass-produced gasoline vehicles and the discovery of cheap oil.

[MacBethany]

I always thought electric cars were a new thing, but I looked it up after my nephew got a Tesla. Turns out they've been around since the horse and buggy days! The first real ones were built in the 1890s. They were actually pretty common in cities back then because they were easier to drive. It's wild to think the technology is that old. It just took a long time for the batteries to get good enough again.

[OSimon]

If you mean a production vehicle you could buy, that was the late 1890s. Companies were building and selling them. But the very first prototype was much earlier. An inventor named Robert Anderson created an electric-powered carriage in 1832. It wasn't practical for daily use, but it proved the concept. So, the answer depends on your definition: the first concept was 1832, but the first practical cars emerged over 50 years later.