The Tribelhorn was a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 electric car

Electric car

An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...

 manufactured from 1899 until 1919 in Zurich. Production began in earnest in 1902; three- and four-wheelers were offered. The company also produced trolleytruck

Trolleytruck

For the alternative name for a sack truck , see Hand truckA trolleytruck is a trolleybus-like vehicle used for carrying cargo instead of passengers. A trolleytruck is usually a type of electric truck powered by two overhead wires, from which it draws electricity using two trolley poles or two...

s that were used in Gümmenen and Mühleberg

Mühleberg

Mühleberg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Mühleberg has an area of . Of this area, 53.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 32.9% is forested...

 Switzerland between 1918 and 1922 during the construction of a dam. It produced only light utility van

Van

A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...

s after 1919 when it was taken over by EFAG (Electrische Fahrzeuge AG).

History

The Company A.Tribelhorn & Cie. AG began in 1902 in Feldbach with the production of automobiles and trucks. In 1918 the name was changed to Electrische Fahrzeuge AG and moved to Altstetten. In 1920 the production was stopped.

Vehicles

There were vehicles manufactured exclusively with electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

. The focus was on the production of commercial vehicles, while passenger cars were only produced in small quantities. 1902 created the first prototype.

Two vehicles of this brand are in the Verkehrshaus der Schweiz to be seen in Luzern.

It is also the name of a conference room at Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. It was the only automaker building and selling a zero-emission sports car, the Tesla Roadster, in serial production...

, Inc.

Books in German language

• Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: Die große Automobil-Enzyklopädie. BLV, München 1986, ISBN 3-405-12974-5.
• George Nicolas Georgano: Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, Paris 1975. (französisch)
• Ernest Schmid: Schweizer Autos. Die schweizerischen Automobilkonstruktionen von 1868 bis heute. Auto-Jahr, Lausanne 1978, ISBN 2-88001-058-6.
• Martin Sigrist: Johann Albert Tribelhorn und sein Erbe bei EFAG und NEFAG – Pioniergeschichte des elektrischen Automobils. Verein für wirtschaftshistorische Studien, Zürich 2011, ISBN 978-3-909059-54-6 (Schweizer Pioniere der Wirtschaft und Technik. Bd. 93).