Onboard electricity sources and electric motors power electric vehicles to propel the wheels and meet various road traffic and safety regulations requirements.
Due to their relatively smaller environmental impact compared to traditional vehicles, their prospects are widely optimistic.
The German engineer Karl Benz (1844–1929) successfully developed the world's first automobile in October 1885, laying the foundation for automobile design. He applied for a patent for the invention of the car with the German Patent Office on January 29, 1886, and the patent was officially approved and published by the office on November 2 of the same year.
Therefore, January 29, 1886, is recognized as the birthdate of the world's automobile, and Benz's patent certificate became the world's first automobile patent.
In fact, before Benz, some people were already working on automobile engines and vehicles. As early as 1863, French newspapers reported on Renault's invention of the automobile, which traveled at speeds of less than 8 km/h but managed to make an 18 km round trip from Paris to Joinville-le-Pont.
In 1884, the Frenchman Édouard Delamare-Deboutteville used an internal combustion engine as a power source to manufacture a three-wheeled car with a single-cylinder engine and a four-wheeled vehicle with a two-cylinder engine.
Even before the invention of the first automobile, many inventions had already appeared, such as lead-acid batteries, internal combustion engine ignition systems, solid rubber tires, and spring suspensions. Therefore, the automobile results from the comprehensive application of many inventions or technologies.
Entering the 1980s, automobiles gradually transitioned to electronic and intelligent systems, with emerging electronic technologies replacing the original simple mechanical and hydraulic control systems to meet increasingly stringent safety, emissions, and energy efficiency requirements. Initially, there were electronically controlled fuel injection, ignition, emissions control, anti-lock braking, traction control, lighting, diagnostics, and alarm systems.
After the 1990s, there were successive introductions of intelligent engine control, automatic transmissions, power steering, electronic stability programs, active suspensions, seat positions, air conditioning, wipers, seat belts, airbags, collision avoidance, anti-theft systems, cruise control, global satellite positioning, and numerous other intelligent automatic control systems.
There are also vehicle auxiliary information systems such as in-car audio, video digital multimedia entertainment systems, wireless networks, and intelligent transportation.
With the development of automotive electronic technology, intelligent technology is gradually being applied. Apple announced the launch of the CarPlay system on March 3, 2014. This system seamlessly integrates users' iOS devices and the iOS user experience with the dashboard system. If a user's car is equipped with CarPlay, they can connect their iPhone and other devices and interact with them using the car's built-in display and control keys or Siri's hands-free function.
Users can easily and safely make phone calls, listen to music, send and receive messages, use navigation, etc., reigniting enthusiasm for in-car intelligence. If automotive electronics are defined as the era of "feature phones," then automotive intelligence will enter the era of "smartphones." Automotive or vehicle networking will rely on automobile manufacturers, dealers, and operators to realize "human-vehicle" interaction.
Vehicle networking will achieve "human-vehicle-network" interaction, while intelligent transportation will realize "human-vehicle-network-road" interaction. It can be foreseen that the electrification and intelligence of automobiles will bring about many new systems and achievements, making driving and riding in cars safer, more environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, comfortable, and enjoyable.
A new round of global technological revolution and industrial transformation is booming, with automobiles accelerating integration with energy, transportation, information communication, and other fields. This is driving profound changes in the form of automobile products, transportation modes, energy consumption structures, and social operating methods, presenting unprecedented development opportunities for the new energy vehicle industry.
