From the birth of the first electric vehicle in 1834 to the new energy vehicle playing the leading role in major international auto shows in 2011, the new energy vehicle has gone through a course of nearly 180 years. After nearly two centuries of tortuous development, new energy vehicles have achieved unprecedented breakthroughs in terms of type, technology and market share. As a subdivision of electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, pure electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles dominate new energy vehicles. The development process of automobiles has received more attention than other types of automobiles. The century-old history of new energy vehicles can be roughly divided into four stages: the birth of electric vehicles, the re-emphasis of electric vehicles, the development of other models such as hybrids, and the marketization of pure electric vehicles.
Stage 1: the birth of electric vehicles. The first battery car invented by the British Thomas Davenport in 1834 is the earliest electric car in the world. By the beginning of the 20th century, electric vehicles, internal combustion engine vehicles and steam engine vehicles each accounted for one-third of the share of the American automobile market. Electric vehicles were once withdrawn from the market due to insufficient infrastructure such as short circuits and charging stations.
Stage 2: Electric vehicles regain their focus. In the 1960s, the US government re-emphasized electric vehicles due to the serious pollution of urban air caused by tens of millions of cars. In the early 1970s, following the OPEC oil embargo crisis, gasoline prices soared and Western interest in electric vehicles grew. The government has increased funding for electric vehicle research and development, and various places have established research and development bases, leading to the arrival of the second round of electric vehicle research and development.
Stage 3: the development of other models such as hybrid. As people's awareness of sustainable development increases, more and more well-known companies are investing in the research and development of hybrid and pure electric vehicles. With the increasing number of hybrid vehicle models and the gradual increase in the scale of production and sales, many models have shown good energy-saving and environmental protection performance, which indicates that the hybrid vehicle market has matured. Foreign car manufacturers designed the world's first hydrogen-powered car in 1965, and China successfully built the first hydrogen-powered car in 1980.
Stage 4: the market-oriented development of pure electric vehicles. In January 1994, the world's best electric car entered the testing phase. Four years later, the technically mature electric vehicle entered the trial operation stage. By 1996 the United States had begun to manufacture and sell electric vehicles. This is the first electric car to be launched by a major manufacturing company with modern mass production. In November 2008, pure electric vehicles ushered in a new spring. Major auto market countries, including Europe, America and China, have listed pure electric vehicles as the dominant direction for future development.