Two facts about Electric Vehicles you probably didn’t know
Electric vehicles are one of the most talked-about topics at the moment, especially as governments put systems in place in order to reach net-zero emissions. The uptake of plug-in-vehicles is absolutely booming and is set to increase exponentially over the coming years.
- Did you know that the first electric vehicle was invented by a UK inventor Robert Anderson when he created the first electric-powered vehicle prototype in 1832? It may have been a crude invention, but it was electrically powered and run on a single charge. He did manage to improve on his concept 10 years later making a more refined design, although it would be another 20 years before a rechargeable battery was used.
- Therefore, the first electrically powered vehicle was around before the Penny Farthing bicycle. In fact, it would be another 37 years until the French inventor Eugene Meyer created the high-level bicycle which became commonly known as the Penny-Farthing.
Since then Electric vehicles have come a long way but two key problems have plagued EVs, and that is limited range and lack of places to charge.
Car manufacturers are increasing range year-on-year, but even the best and most expensive EVs are some way behind their petrol-guzzling counterparts. Therefore, vehicle charging points are more crucial than ever, and although the UK has witnessed substantial changes in the past 12 months, sadly its electric charging infrastructure isn’t likely to be able to cope with the volumes of EVs that will shortly be humming around our streets.
But the future is in our hands, gone are the days when we have to queue at petrol stations, vehicle charging points can be installed almost anywhere, at home or even at work and with the average running cost of 1.7pence per mile, there’s a big benefit for employers to offer this to staff and a potential revenue stream if an organisation was to charge for the facility.