The world was gradually waking up to the dangers of air pollution by the late 1980’s. Although only a few scientists related this phenomenon to global warming. The California Air Resources Board took the lead in 1990, by insisting leading auto companies manufacture and sell electric vehicles. The General Motors EV1 electric car was a strategic move to maintain GM’s market in California.
Specification of General Motors EV1 Electric Car
The General Motors offering was a subcompact, two-door electric car that entered production in 1996. Early models had a driving range of 55 miles on a 16.5 – 18.7 kWh lead–acid battery. Later versions used 26.4 kWh nickel–metal hydride chemistry, delivering a slightly improved range.
General Motors leased most of the approximately 1,000 electric cars it produced, delivering the bulk to California, Georgia and Arizona. The company also experimented with battery hybrid, parallel hybrid, and compressed natural gas variants. Customer reception was ‘favorable’ according to Wikipedia.
Perhaps General Motor’s heart was never in the project. Wikipedia suggests it believed ‘electric cars occupied an unprofitable niche of the automobile market’. The company ended the project in 2001, despite protests from customers, and crushed most of the leased General Motors EV1 electric cars.
Was Crushing EV1 Electric Cars Short Sighted?
GM’s decision was undoubtedly short sighted, because global warming was the winner and it set electric car development back. However, it would not be long before it would have regretted its decision, as competition arrived to fill the gap.
Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning established Tesla Motors in July 2003. Within 6 months, Elon Musk substantially funded their company, and became chairman shortly afterwards.
In 2017 Musk recollected, “Since big car companies were killing their EV programs, the only chance was to create an EV company, even though it was almost certain to fail”.
Later Musk recalled that his decision had “nothing to do with government incentives, or making money. I thought there was a 90% probability of losing it all (almost did many times),” he admitted. But it was “the only chance”.
More Information
Electric Car History If Only Voltra Persisted
Detroit Electric Car: History’s Loss
