Who Invented Hybrid Cars?

A lot of people, when they think of hybrid cars, believe this is a relatively new concept. How wrong they are.

Yes, but who invented hybrid cars?

Hybrid cars have actually existed for over 100 years, yes hybrid cars are over a century old. Just like every automobile of course they have evolved with newer technology, but the fact remains they have quite a long history.

Research shows that the first hybrid car was actually created in 1898! Yes 1898, long before Ford became a household name or made its major debut.

1890 to 1920 was the peak of early hybrid vehicle development.  History tells us there were more than 100 makers of electric cars in the U.S. and Canada.

Cumbersome Batteries

Electric vehicles first originated in the late 1800's. Unfortunately due to the design of batteries at that time in history they never really took off. Batteries were large and cumbersome and made it almost impossible to run a vehicle this way. Performance was quite poor and it took the further evolution of batteries before this would be attempted again. 

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In 1898, the very first hybrid vehicle emerged. Electrical vehicles themselves had come along way from their early invention in the early 1800's. They could now run much longer than their predecessors. The first hybrid was actually a Porsche, created by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche! And it could manage up to 40 miles on battery power.

General Electric then surfaced in 1898 with their first hybrid, an electrical gasoline hybrid. This idea still didn't take off as well as they add hoped with consumer polls showing that more than 40% preferred the electrical car to steam or gasoline.

Self-Starting Vehicles

The 1900's showed a change in the way cars were run. More cars were being produced running on gasoline and batteries. By 1920 Ford had captured the market with self-starting gasoline vehicles and the hybrid cars looked like they may just fade into history.

Buyers simply preferred the cheap, faster Ford gasoline cars then the many alternative hybrids that were still being produced and just as quickly rejected by consumers.

Fast forward almost 50 years before hybrids were much heard from again. In the early 1970's we begun to realize the impact of gasoline run cars and tried looking into an alternative, like hydrogen fuel for cars.  Fuel prices were on the rise and more companies sought hybrid vehicles as a result.

They were supposed to be in full fledge production by the mids 1980's. This never happened. Several companies came out with various versions of hybrids but the change from self-starting gasoline vehicles to the more environmentally hybrid never came.  We are still waiting for a high miles per gallon car

It wasn't until closer to the turn of the century with the advancements of computer use in vehicles that hybrids rose up again. Computer technology has improved the way hybrids are run and has caused more automobile companies to begin their production.

As we have reached more recent times, our eyes again turn to the hybrid to help ease the strain of gasoline prices and environmental impacts.  There are exciting plans like for things like water hydrogen fuel cells power.

The history of hybrid cars is a long one, with many rises to fames and disappearances into the background. With gas prices on the rise and global warming all around us, we can easily see why hybrids are becoming the vehicle of choice.  

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Who Invented Hybrid Cars?