History and background of electric motorcycles
- Kawinthip Rahaeng
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Electric motorcycle

By the late 1860s, references to electric motorcycles can be found in the following patents:
1911: Electric motorcycles are invented, according to the article Popular Mechanics .
1920: Ransomes, the current forklift manufacturer, explores the use of electric motorcycles.
This and other developments pave the way for the company's mining and Lorenz electric cars.
Early 1940s: Fuel rationing in the United States leads Earle Williams to convert his motorcycles to electric power. This becomes the basis for the formation of the Marketeer Company's ParCar.
1941: Fuel rationing in Europe encourages an Austrian company called Socovel to build a small electric motorcycle. Approximately 400 are manufactured.
1967: The first fuel cell-powered electric motorcycle is built by Karl Kordesch at Union Carbide, demonstrating the feasibility of fuel cells as a power source. This type of fuel cell is an allyl fuel cell that operates on hydrazine, a propellant. Rocket
1967: "Papoose", a prototype small electric motorcycle, built by the Indian Motocycle Company under the direction of Floyd Clymer
Early 1970s: A small mini-motorcycle with a small motorcycle is sold
(Small motorcycle) Aurestetic Charger 1973: Mike Corbin sets the speed limit for an electric motorcycle of 101 mph
1974: Corbin-Gentry Inc. begins selling electric motorcycles on the road
Professor Charles E. MacArthur makes the first ride on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, on a Corbin electric motorcycle. This event It becomes an annual gathering called the "Mt Washington Alternative Vehicle Regatta".
1978: Electric Harley Davidson built by Transitron, manufactured in Honolulu, Hawaii.
1988: Eyeball Engineering builds the KawaSHOCKi Drag Bike
And is featured in major magazines.
1996: Peugeot Scoot'Elec becomes the world's first electric motorcycle manufacturer.
Late 1990s: EMB Lectra VR24 electric motor pioneers the use of variable reluctance motors
(hence the VR) and is marketed as street legal.
2000: Killacycle sets 152 mph (400 m) time record at Woodburn Drags 2000, OR 2000s Developments in lithium-ion batteries and efficient electric motors have led to the emergence of electric Direct current is becoming more possible.
2007: A123 Li-Ion cell powered Killacycle sets a new quarter mile (400 m) record of 7.824 seconds and 168 mph (270 km/h) in Phoenix, AZ at the 2007 AHDRA. [13]
2008: Orlando Tony Parker's Electra Green in Omaha, Nebraska is the first electric motorcycle to be made in the state of Nebraska. 2009 "The 24 Hours of Electricross", the first all-electric street race (TTXGP), the first all-electric street race, takes place on the Isle of Man.
2010: ElectroCat is the first electric motorcycle to reach the top of a hill and sets a record time in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Electric Vehicle Development Overseas
People's Republic of China
China is facing a problem due to toxic smog from cars in major cities, to the point where sometimes visibility is less than 100 meters. This has caused the Chinese government to be very serious about promoting the use of electric cars or hybrid cars. In the initial promotion period in 2010, the Chinese government compensated everyone who bought an electric car for the cost of batteries. Electric cars will be compensated 60,000 yuan (approximately 309,000 baht), while hybrid cars will be compensated 50,000 yuan (approximately 257,000 baht), starting with 5 major cities: Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Changchun, and Hefei. The goal was to sell around 50,000 cars, but in the end, only 8,159 cars were sold. Therefore, the Chinese government made a new amendment. By setting the maximum compensation for personal cars at 9,800 US dollars (approximately 350,000 baht) and buses at 81,600 US dollars (approximately 2.91 million baht), and allowing the right to be received nationwide, the total sales of both electric and hybrid cars from January to August 2014 reached 31,137 units, an increase of 328% compared to the same period in 2013. And currently, the Chinese government still supports it as before.
Japan
Japan was one of the first countries to officially produce and sell hybrid electric cars. But the important thing in the growth is partly from the support of the government. In 1996, there was support for compensating the price difference between electric cars, hybrid cars, natural gas or methanol cars and cars that use regular gasoline by up to 50% until 2003 when the policy was canceled. Then, from 2009 to 2012, the main support came from tax measures. Both sales tax reductions of 1.6% - 2.7% or between 150,000 - 300,000 yen (approximately 46,000 - 92,000 baht) for electric vehicles, Fuel Cell, Plug-In Hybrid, Hybrid, Clean Diesel and Natural Gas, as well as an annual tax reduction of 50% for electric vehicles during 2009-2010. And later, there was a compensation measure for those who buy new cars that are environmentally friendly. If it is a small and standard size, receive 100,000 yen (30,000 baht), mini cars and Kei Cars receive 50,000 yen (15,000 baht), while trucks and buses will receive between 400,000 - 1,800,000 yen (122,000 - 553,000 baht).
South Korea
In July 2016, the Korean government announced a plan to promote the use of electric vehicles. With many measures, both tax cuts, electric car purchases of 14 million won (approximately 416,000 baht), including the right to buy insurance at special prices, discounts on parking fees and expressways, and the government also added a plan to build fast charging stations every 2 kilometers in Seoul and another 30,000 slow charging stations in 4,000 apartments nationwide by 2020.
Norway
Norway is considered another country that promotes the use of clean energy, especially cars, which promotes the use of electric cars to the fullest, including no value-added tax of about 25% of the car price, no expressway fees, no parking fees in state parking lots, use of bus lanes during rush hours, and free car rides on ferries. Currently, there are more than 100,000 registered electric cars, making it the country with the most electric cars in the world.
France
France began having a policy to reduce exhaust emissions since 2008, but the real issue related to electric cars began in 2012 onwards, starting with money. Special compensation for cars that emit no more than 125 grams/kilometer, receive 20% of the car price, but not more than 2,000 euros (approximately 75,400 baht) and cars that emit no more than 60 grams/kilometer, receive 20% of the car price, but not more than 5,000 euros (approximately 188,600 baht). But later, the compensation for those who buy electric cars was increased to 30% of the car price, but not more than 7,000 euros (approximately 264,000 baht). And in 2015, the new policy was adjusted to encourage people to switch from diesel to electric cars more by compensating new electric car purchases of 6,300 euros (approximately 237,000 baht). And if you bring a diesel car model purchased before January 1, 2001, the compensation will be increased by another 3,700 euros (approximately 139,600 baht). And the latest policy that just started in 2017, there will be a reduction. Compensation for electric car purchases from 6,300 euros to 6,000 euros (approximately 226,000 baht), but the compensation for those who trade in diesel cars that are more than 10 years old will be increased to 4,000 euros (approximately 150,000 baht).
Germany
The German government has clearly announced that it will become the market leader in electric cars, with a goal of having 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020. It started with a 5-year annual car tax exemption, which was increased to 10 years on January 1, 2016, and helped compensate for personal electric car purchases of up to 5,000 euros (approximately 188,600 baht), and company cars will receive a compensation of 3,000 euros (approximately 113,000 baht), and will decrease by 500 euros per year until it runs out. Starting from February 2016, in March of the same year, Nissan Europe also announced an additional promotion by giving a discount to those who buy every Nissan electric car equal to the money that the German government compensates until the measure is complete.
Netherlands
The Netherlands aims to have 1 million electric cars on the road by 2025. The first measure starts with a waiver of vehicle registration tax and annual tax. For personal cars, the waiver will be 4 years, which will save an average of 5,324 euros (approximately 200,000 baht), and for corporate cars, the waiver will be 5 years, which will save approximately 19,000 euros (approximately 716,000 baht). There is also a policy for those who buy electric cars.
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