Electric range might seem like a problem of the 2020s, but it was also an issue for battery-powered cars in the 1920s. — dpa
HANOVER: Push the lever in one direction, hit the accelerator — the car moves forward. Pull the lever in the other direction — it reverses.
What may seem technically simple today was an ingenious solution some 100 years ago when the Hawa EM3 city delivery van, a small electric car with a range of 70km to 100km, was first produced in 1922.
It’s amazing to think that such a distance could be covered with old-fashioned and heavy lead batteries. And yet, it was actually not uncommon. And even back then, range was the magic word. Ultimately it was what caused the early electric cars to fail, and it’s something that still causes concern today when it comes to electric vehicles.
For the Hawa, the limited range was always enough. Only two examples of the electric relic still exist; the model was only built between 1921 and 1923.
One is now in the Historical Museum in the German city of Hanover, the other belongs to the electricity provider BS Energy in the city of Braunschweig — and is being refurbished by a group of old car enthusiasts, Hanomag IG, based in the town of Bockenem-Story.
Before that it served for years as a theatre prop. But even when it was first produced, some cars could go well over 100km, and during test drives even more.
The Hawa EM3 electric van was built with old-school lead batteries. — dpa
Just imagine it: Countless cars on the road, but instead of roaring engines when they accelerate you hear hardly a thing, smelly exhaust fumes as electric engines zip around with fumes.
But this is not a vision of the future. This is how it was over 100 years ago. At least until the combustion engine prevailed.
In Bockenem-Story, at any rate, the little e-Hawa is a something of a rarity. The club there specialises in vehicles and machines that were produced by the Hanomag firm — from cars to wheel loaders. The club has been based in the same warehouse for 20 years, and it’s something of a historic space, it was built with 38,000 bricks that were moved from the former Hanomag factory here.
Club chairman Horst-Dieter Goerg bought his first Hawa from a collector in Australia. Today, the two-seater convertible is on display in the club's museum.
The small van from BS Energy, on the other hand, a 40-volt car with 1.6 horsepower and a chain drive, is still being repaired by members of the club. The space under the still missing front bonnet is narrow. Underneath there are 20 battery cells for driving and a 6-volt battery to power the lights.
The car has no gearbox, but three gears, explains Goerg. The engine accelerates via a drum switch to half, then three quarters and finally full power. It can only reach a speed of 30kph. The casing for the switch has had to be replaced, the 60-year-old economist explains.
The charging time with a modern charger is only two hours, says electrician Reinhard Koch. And it will soon be ready for its first outing – and unlike a combustion engine, the noise it makes won’t be a loud grumbling, but rather a gentle humming.
A hundred years ago, the automotive world was very different to today. In fact electric vehicles were considered superior, Stefan Bratzel, Professor at the Centre of Automotive Management in Bergisch Gladbach, explains.
It was only the possibility of driving longer distances that tipped the scales in favour of the combustion engine. They were also more convenient since they didn't require the annoying cranking. Then as now, the decisive factors were range, charging infrastructure and price.
Koch looking at the interior of the EM3 of 1922. — dpa
For Alexander Kloss of the PS Speicher car museum in Einbeck, Lower Saxony, the heyday of early electric cars was from around 1915 to 1920, for example, when the Detroit Electric brand was available in the United States.
A PS Speicher team drove one of those cars from Einbeck to Hildesheim and back last year, a distance of about 100 kilometres. "Today, the E-Up can just about do that. Not so much has changed in terms of range," says Kloss.
But the first German electric car is even older — the so-called Flocken car from 1888. The problems back then were similar to those of today – the lack of charging facilities outside the cities.
That's why Goerg doesn’t see electric mobility as "a silver bullet." "It will fade away again," the 60-year-old believes. Instead, he is banking on fuel cells and hydrogen. Or perhaps there will be completely new inventions, he suggests.
As early as 1906 a steam car broke the 200kph mark, he says. "We have no idea what will win out in the end."
