How petrol cars overtook electric vehicles

There is a rise in the sale of electric and hybrid cars that use petroleum energy and electricity. Kenya does not manufacture cars so we are forced to go with whatever is produced by the world's industrialised nations. The manufacturers of cars are slowly moving towards electric cars, but are they really a new invention?

Electric cars came into the market around the same time as cars that use petrol. Only the steam powered car is slightly older. As at 1900, the horse was still the preferred mode of transport for the upper-class; the others used ox-driven carts. Steam engine was enhanced by James Watt in 1764 but it was until 1870 that the first steam powered car was put on the road. It was powered by coal. The steam-powered car was slow to start and water had to be added in the middle of the journey.

Petrol powered cars came into the market with electric cars. Petrol cars were noisy and involved a lot of effort to change the gears before the technology improved. Starting the engine involved rotating a crank like the one used to start diesel powered posho mills. Meanwhile, electric cars did not have the challenges associated with the other types of cars.

Electric cars were quiet, easy to drive and didn't emit smoke. They quickly became popular in urban centres and liked by women. They were perfect for short trips around the city.

With the expansion of electricity into more homes by 1910, electric cars grew in popularity.

Porsche manufactured P1, their brand of electric car in 1898, which they followed with the first hybrid car. Then Henry Ford happened with Model T petrol powered car in 1908. He did not fully believe in the uptake of gasoline cars so in 1914 he approached Thomas Edison who was working on a better battery for the electric car.

By 1912, Ford went into mass production of Model T, which lowered the price of petrol cars to only $650 (Sh81,250), while an electric one went for $1,750 (Sh218,750). That year, Charles Kettering invented the electric starter, which eliminated the hand crank and people began to prefer petrol powered cars.

America took over the development of the car industry. Texas oil was discovered in early 1920s and lowered the price of petrol. There was also interest in development of better roads in America and around the world by colonial governments. Petrol managed to penetrate the rural areas faster than electricity. That is how petrol cars overtook electric cars despite the latter being the better option. In late 1960s, oil prices shot up leading to shortages. In October 1973, Egypt and Syria led other Arab nations in attacking Israel to launch the fourth Israeli-Arab war or simply Yom-Kipur War. Arab nations imposed an oil embargo on USA for supporting Israel, leading to their loss in the war.

This ignited an interest in the US for reducing dependence on foreign oil. US Congress passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1976. General Motors developed a prototype for electric car that was put on display in 1973. American Motor Company developed electric jeeps for the United States Postal Service in 1975 for a test programme in urban deliveries.

Electric cars that were made in 1970s had low performance. They drove at a maximum speed of about 70km/h and needed to recharge after going for about 60km. The push for electric cars slowed down and people went back to petrol cars but the desire did not end. Climate change became a global concern which called for a reduction in carbon emissions. Accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to a rise in temperatures which then can spark off a host of effects in the world's ecosystems. The main source of carbon emissions is fossil fuels and cars are the biggest consumers of fuel.

The first turning point was the introduction of the Toyota Prius in Japan in 1997. This was the first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle in the world. The Prius went worldwide in 2000, and received some good reviews, which made the world to put back the fuel nozzles briefly. Honda released their hybrid car called Insight in 1999. The difference was improvement in the battery power holding capacity.

Investment in battery research and development has led to a drop in battery costs by 50 per cent in the last four years. This has lowered the costs of electric vehicles, making them more affordable for consumers. More people are going for electric and hybrid cars in the west as technology improves. Kenyans will have no option but take them up as we tend to prefer importing used cars.

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is driven by petroleum fuel but runs on electric system. It has no plug-in point but has a battery, which enables the driver to shift to and from the two systems.