Evening star., 1914-11-22
HARD TO TRACE THE HISTORY
OF THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE
P.D. Wagner, Engineer, Says Its Develop
ment in Europe Is More or Less
Shrouded in Uncertainty

1899 to 1902. The Opperman Company
(German) placed an electric van in
the service Of the London post Office in
1901. (American built commercial cleo
tries were shipped abroad that year
also.)
II mention the foregoing to illus
trate that Europe had a very important
storage batteries. but of electric We
hicles as well. I might go further II
space permitted and emphasize our in
debtedness to European engineers for
trio motors. But all this development
practically stopped, so far as the cleo
tric vehicle Is concerned, about 1903.
The progress made from 1903 to 1903
appears to have been spasmodic in
character and wanting in cohesion SO
far as cooperation between manufac-
turers and electricity companies was
concerned.
I'm his book Secondary Batteries'
(London. 1902 E. J. Wade mentions
no less than twenty-six makes of Euro
pean batteries. and in Hasluck's The
Automobile 1903) he describes the
constructional features Of nineteen diff
ferent. makes of European electric We
hicles. besides referring to the product
Of several other manufacturers. I re-
gret to say that ! cannot tell you posi-
lively how many going concerns are
manufacturing electric vehicles and
ber of the former probably does not
exceed eight or ten. There are a
number of automobile manufacturers
who build a few electrics in conjunc-
tion with their regular line.
Number Of Electrics in Europe.
According to DR.. H. Beckmann of
Berlin there are today approximately
1900 electric vehicles in the whole Of
Europe. Probably % per cent Of the
electric passenger cars in England are
, sibly 10 per cent Of those in France.
The number of commercial electrics
exported to Europe is to date almost
negligible.
"As will be noted from DR.. Beck.
mann's figures. the number Of electric
Europe is very small. The develop
ment has been along highly specialized
lines; taxicabs, municipal apparatus
| and postal vehicles predominating.
and mine working vehicles scattered
| through various countries. Few Of the
passenger electrics compare with our
luxurious cars and many Of the mail
wagons are of the frail light weight.
inexpensive tricycle. type. Electric
vans for wholesale dry goods, grocery
and general heavy delivery are used
to only very small extent in England,
ana paTtS OF germany ana france, ana
fleets of from twenty-fve to fifty Ave-
ton or even two-ton trucks are un-
known.
by a strange coincidence the electric
vehicle passed under a cloud in Europe
about the same time 1t became persona
non grata in this country, viz. 1903.
The Commercial Motor Of London in
commenting on the general situation
early IN 1914 says in part: All the
early vehicles were made at time
when electrical design had not settled
down into accepted grooves. Hence,
not only were motors ineflcient as re-
CARDS actual consumption, but the cars
were very far from perfect mechanic
ally. Crude transmission, consumptive
storage cells, bad financial manage
| ment and an external appearance
which was even then archaic, prevsnt-
ed the extensive use of the electric
car for years .. The same plod- :
ding work that advanced the petrol and
steam cars has never been done by the
sponsors for the electric over here.
.. Signal and outstanding success
in the present is a sine qua non II 1t
be desired to live down a bad reputa-
tion of the past So much for the
viewpoint Of q paper devoted primarily
to the gasoline vehicle interests.
Benefits Gasoline Vehicle.
"As the electric passed under a cloud
the gasoline vehicle rushed into the
gap-abroad as well as hero. The elsc-