Electric cars are not a new invention, they have been here since

There is a rise in the sale of electric and hybrid cars that use petroleum energy and electricity. Kenya does not manufacture cars so we are forced to go with whatever is produced by the world's industrialised nations. The manufacturers of cars are slowly moving towards electric cars, but are they really a new invention?

Electric cars came into the market around the same time as cars that use petrol. Only the steam powered car is slightly older. As at 1900, the horse was still the preferred mode of transport for the upper-class; the others used ox-driven carts. Steam engine was enhanced by James Watt in 1764 but it was until 1870 that the first steam powered car was put on the road. It was powered by coal. The steam-powered car was slow to start and water had to be added in the middle of the journey.