One of the most in-demand industries for toll processing is refining the lithium, cobalt and other rare metals that are a core part of modern electric batteries, and the biggest market for electric batteries is electric vehicles.

At present, electric vehicles are more desirable, more practical and have a greater range than they have ever had before, to the point that this demand has created potential problems of its own.

However, whilst manufacturers such as Toyota, Tesla and Nissan have showcased the true potential of electric cars, there have been others that have mostly shown just how much work needed to be done beforehand.

 

Sinclair C5

With the benefit of hindsight, Clive Sinclair’s dream of a battery-powered future was inspired, and few can fault the ambition of the electric trike that emerged from this dream. However, people found fault with pretty much everything else.

The Sinclair C5 suffered from a few major problems; its top speed of 20 mph, mandated by English law at the time, meant that it was too slow to get you anywhere, although its woeful battery life meant that its range in cold weather was barely 20 miles by itself.

It was also devastatingly uncool, with a driving motion that did not make it an appealing place to be. However what truly ended the C5 was how low it was, meaning that it was at risk of being crushed by a lorry.

It was a devastating failure, and alongside Sir Clive’s other failures in the TV80 and QL computer, led to the end of his technology empire.

 

Reva G-Wiz

Officially, the G-Wiz was too slow and too small to legally be considered a car, and much like the C5 could not have started with a worse first impression.

Its poor range, crash test failures and unappealing design made the G-Wiz the most hated car on British roads at its exceptionally low peak.

 

GM EV-1

The first ever mass-produced electric car, the EV-1 was one of the first electric cars to feel like an actual car, which did give it a level of appeal. Unfortunately, its limited range, lack of reliability and bizarre leasing model led to GM pulling the plug as soon as they feasibly could.

What made the decision to give up on it even worse is that the next car GM would produce would be the infamous gas-guzzling Hummer H2.