Possibly in 1834, Robert Anderson of Scotland created the first electric carriage. The following year, a small electric car was built by the team of Professors. They were Stratingh of Groningen, Holland, and his assistant, Christopher Becker. Around 1842, both American Thomas Davenport (1802–51) and Scotsman Robert Davidson (1804–1894) put more practical electric vehicles on the road. Both of these inventors introduced non-rechargeable electric cells to the electric car.

The Parisian engineer Charles Jentaud fitted a carriage with an electric motor in 1881. William Edward and John Perry, professors at London’s City and Guilds Institute, began road trials with an electrical tricycle in 1882. Three years later, a battery-driven electric cab serviced Brighton. Around 1900, internal combustion engines were only one of three competing technologies for propelling cars. Steam engines were used, while electric vehicles were clean. Electric cabs dominated major cities for several years.

The electric vehicle did not fail because of the limited range of batteries or their weight. Historian Michel Schitter and others maintain that failed business strategies were more important. Thus, most motor cars in the twentieth century relied on internal combustion, except for niche applications such as urban deliveries. At the end of the century, after several efforts from small manufacturers, General Motors made available an all-electric vehicle called the EVI from 1996 to 2003 In the late 1990s, Toyota and Honda introduced hybrid vehicles combining internal combustion engines and batteries.

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