<P> Rechargeable batteries that provided a viable means for storing electricity on board a vehicle did not come into being until 1859, with the invention of the lead--acid battery by French physicist Gaston Planté . Camille Alphonse Faure, another French scientist, significantly improved the design of the battery in 1881; his improvements greatly increased the capacity of such batteries and led directly to their manufacture on an industrial scale . </P> <P> An early electric - powered two - wheel cycle was put on display at the 1867 World Exposition in Paris by the Austrian inventor Franz Kravogl, but it was regarded as a curiosity and could not drive reliably in the street . Another cycle, this time with three wheels, was tested along a Paris street in April 1881 by French inventor Gustave Trouvé </P> <P> English inventor Thomas Parker, who was responsible for innovations such as electrifying the London Underground, overhead tramways in Liverpool and Birmingham, and the smokeless fuel coalite, built the first production electric car in London in 1884, using his own specially designed high - capacity rechargeable batteries . Parker's long - held interest in the construction of more fuel - efficient vehicles led him to experiment with electric vehicles . He also may have been concerned about the malign effects smoke and pollution were having in London . </P> <P> Production of the car was in the hands of the Elwell - Parker Company, established in 1882 for the construction and sale of electric trams . The company merged with other rivals in 1888 to form the Electric Construction Corporation; this company had a virtual monopoly on the British electric car market in the 1890s . The company manufactured the first electric' dog cart' in 1896 . </P>

When was the first full electric car made