Exide have been making batteries since they were founded as the Electric Storage Battery Company in 1888. Storage batteries were then apparently known, rather appealingly, as 'pickled amperes'. The American company expanded rapidly in the 1890s and, while the first batteries were used for lighting, they were soon also powering Philadelphia's streetcars and even, in 1898, the US's first submarine. In 1900, a battery for electric taxis was introduced, called 'Exide' as a shortened form of 'Excellent Oxide'.
In 1912, Cadillac introduced a car with an internal combustion engine but an electric starter. The days of the crank-handle starter were numbered, and a major area of Exide's business was born. The battery remains an essential component today - and, moving full circle, the all-electric car is once more appearing on our streets.
