Who killed the Electric Car?

This video explores the life of the electric car and the many factors such as consumers, manufacturers, the government and the oil industry. 

"In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline........... Ten years later, these futuristic cars were almost completely gone."

Electric cars have actually been around for many decades, where in that time there were more on the road as they were smooth and easily charged at home. Over 5000 electric cars were designed for example by GM, Chrysler, Toyota and Ford but later destroyed or were donated to museums and educational institutions in later years.

The pollution that were released from cars had serious public health issues which lead to the rising of the earth’s temperature from carbon dioxide released also contributing to smog. The electric car was environmentally friendly in contrast however this was not enough to make it successful in the industry. The battery life of the cars limited travel as they had little charge, although they were later upgraded to 50x their charge this was not enough to keep them abundant. these lead to the problems with electric cars and their path to success included consumer interaction and poor marketing tactics. Lack of consumer knowledge and interest created a low emergence and acceptance of the car and increased scepticism. People were not willing to change their lifestyle or willing to pay for something they had little knowledge about. they were also too comfortable with the existing cars. The importance of money and price being low also outweighed the care for the environment.

Furthermore, gas cars were mass manufactured, which is faster and cheaper compared to the electric cars. (even though they required more servicing such as brake and oil changes). In addition Californian Legislation changed and governments and oil companies binded together to create a higher power. Their greed and power led to getting rid of the competitors (electric cars) as corporate profit was their focus which had a great impact on the car industry.

To conclude, both cars had their advantages and disadvantages but the electric car was more in low demand and low key due to uncertainty which made them live a short product life. All elements had to be considered and on board for the implementation of the electric cars into the market for them to be successful. In addition there are now other ways to help the environment and stop pollution instead of buying an electric car. Even now electric cars are a challenge to innovate, market and implement. This is a great example to show that a product may not be successful in the real world due to other factors even though it has environmentally sustainable elements.