About PA Electrics

PA Electrics advocates and encourages the use of electric powered vehicles, ranging from inexpensive bicycles and scooters, to the more expensive highway speed vehicles. Baker Electric Vehicle

The electric vehicle is not new. They were developed in the 1830's and by the late 1890's outsold gasoline cars ten to one. In recent years, there has been a rebirth of interest in electric vehicles, due to concerns about air pollution and the rising cost of gasoline.

Electric vehicles are feasible today, not in ten or more years like some of the other alternative fueled vehicles. Infrastructure is already in place for electric vehicles, they can plug right into normal household electrical outlets.

The electric vehicle is environmentally and consumer friendly. They have fewer moving parts than a typical gasoline vehicle. Electric vehicles do NOT need gasoline, oil, antifreeze, spark plugs, exhaust systems or emissions testing. The body parts on electric vehicles are usually made out of materials that are less likely to rust. These vehicles require little to no maintenance and costs the consumer as little as 1.5 cents per mile, much more cost effective than a traditional gasoline vehicle.

Company History

PA Electrics came about because of a David Letterman interview with Tom Hanks. It sounds kind of funny, but it is true.

One night our company founder was unable to sleep, so he was watching David Letterman. Tom Hanks was Dave's guest that evening and he was on the show talking about his all electric car. (If you click on the link it will take you to the video of the interview on youtube.com.)

The cost of gas at the time was $1.89 a gallon. His commute back and forth to work cost around $40 a week to fill his vehicle with gas. The thought of not having to buy gasoline for a vehicle intrigued him. He began to search for more information about electric vehicles.

The more information he found, the more he began thinking seriously about starting a vehicle dealership that would sell various electric vehicles to the general public. He began researching funding for his business idea. Names were considered and rejected, until finally PA Electrics was registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State in June of 2004.

During his search for information about electric vehicles, he found several studies on the oil supply and gasoline prices. That Easter at a family gathering, he predicted that gasoline would reach over $2 per gallon by that summer. He was told that would never happen. "When pigs fly" was one of the phrases used. To the family's dismay, he was correct, however it actually was during the spring when gas reached over $2 a gallon.

The more information he uncovered, the more interested he became in the pure electric vehicle technology. Some interesting facts that he found were:

In the late 1800s Electric Vehicles outsold Gasoline Vehicles 10 to 1.
The first auto race in America was won by an Electric Vehicle.
The first car dealers sold Electric Vehicles.
There are currently more than 90 companies engaged in manufacturing electric vehicles worldwide.

In 2007, PA Electrics obtained funding to enable the renting of a retail location. Our shop was located at 5847 Washington Avenue in Export, PA from 2007 until September of 2009.

PA Electrics had plans to apply for a dealer license with the State of Pennsylvania, in order to be able to issue license plates for highway speed vehicles. However until that process could be completed, PA Electrics started with selling electric bicycles and various off-road electric vehicles.

Fall is usually a slow season for selling bicycles, therefore in 2009, we made the decision to move our retail location during this time. We had found a new larger location, with garage space which would have enabled us to begin offering conversion services. However, the prior tenant renegotiated his lease and the location was no longer available. So the search for a new location began again.

During the process of looking for a new location, purchases were still being made by phone, as we ran the business from our home. We sold parts for electric vehicles all over the country and to a few customers overseas and in Canada.

Going out of Business

At the end of 2018, the owner of PA Electrics developed some serious medical issues which caused him to make the decision to close his business. After 14 years, it was a very hard decision, but hopefully the correct one.

We will be liquidating our leftover inventory, please contact us if you are interested in any of the items.

We are still committed to supporting electric transportation, and still drive electric vehicles, but will no longer sell them.