The History of Electric Scooters and Their Rise to Popularity

It was the Ajax Motor Vehicle Company which wasstage of the electric scooter history, Earle Williams
located in the city of New York that was credited withwho was an inventor, tried to convert a gas operated
creating the first electric runabouts in the early parts ofcycle to electric. His creation was named the ParCar
the 1900s in the United States. This was about theand was developed by the Marketeer Company. The
same time that a reference to an electric scooter wasEuropean came out with their own versions by
made in the early editions of the Popular Mechanics.manufacturing four hundred electric mopeds. A
These two credits were among the firsts in electricEuropean business firm known as Socovel was
scooter history. The early 1920's saw Ransomesresponsible for this.
making and electric cycle. This was followed by theMany advances in electric scooter history were made
Applications Electro Mecaniques, which was a Frenchduring the sixties and the seventies. During these
company. It developed what it termed asdecades, a battery company called Union Carbide
Electrocyclette in the year 1927. But it was really moreproduced the alkali fuel cell which was intended for use
of a trike than a scooter since it has two wheels atin electric motor. Land speed records were also tried
the front and one at the back.to be established using the electric version of the
During the Second World War, much of the worldscooter. It was also during these times where mass
experienced shortages in fuel. This was brought aboutproduced and street legal electric machines were
by the large expenditure of the war. Hence, manymade. This was the first time in the history of electric
people tried to remedy the situation by trying to inventscooter when the public saw a large number of the
an alternative to using gas for traveling. During thiselectric vehicles being used on the streets.