At the end of the 19th century, nearly 40 percent of American cars were electric. In cities with early electric systems, battery-powered cars were popular and reliable choice, compared with their gas-powered competitors. early car batteries were expensive and inefficient. At the same time, new (discover) of oil fields lowered the price of gas, and new advances made gas-powered cars more appealing. That's why gas-powered cars (rule) the roads for the next 55 years. Aside from some special-purpose vehicles, electric cars were nowhere to be found.
However, in the 1980s, the tide began to turn. Studies associating car emissions smog(霾) encouraged governments to reconsider electric vehicles. Many companies were developing increasingly efficient batteries at that time. In 2008, Tesla Motors went further, (attract) the attention of the world with its lithium-ion-powered (锂电的) sport cars, could travel more than 320kms on a single charge. Since then, electric vehicles (improve) in cost, performance, efficiency and availability. They can accelerate (fast) than gas powered sports cars. And though some models still have a high upfront cost, they save their drivers money in the long run.
As governments around the world focus on slowing climate change, electric vehicles are now expected (replace) gas-powered ones altogether. Soon, electric cars will reclaim their place on the road.
