Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Rise of the modern electric vehicle -- 2. Consumer perspectives -- 3. Energy security -- 4. Urban air quality -- 5. Global climate change -- 6. Prelude to China's leapfrog gambit -- 7. Rescuing the auto industry -- 8. The supply chain: Produce or outsource? -- 9. Securing raw materials -- 10. From cheater to innovator -- 11. Charging networks and the grid -- 12. Persuading consumers -- 13. Predicting the pace of the transition. "The proliferation of electric cars will change the daily lives of motorists, boost some regional economies and hurt others, reduce oil insecurity but create new insecurities about raw materials, and impact urban air quality and climate change. The invention of the lithium-ion battery and its adaptation to the auto sector set the stage for the proliferation of electric cars, beginning with California and Norway. This book focuses on the period from the oil crises of the 1970s to the present, tracing the development of this entirely new industry and its critical supply chain. John Graham delves into the major societal concerns, economic rationales, governmental policies and corporate strategies. He emphasizes that consumer concerns slowed the pace of the transition while spurring more innovation and new policies to persuade reluctant consumers. And he explains why the transition is now occurring much faster in China and Europe than in Japan and the United States. More broadly, the book tells the story of many successes and failures in public policy, technological innovation and corporate strategy. This book provides an in-depth understanding of how people on every continent in the world are contributing to the new electric-vehicle industry, including the raw materials, battery components, electric motors and charging stations"--