A journalist has called for the motor industry to ditch the term “horsepower” – a term first coined during the Industrial Revolution by inventor James Watt.
Instead the writer is suggesting using Watts or Kilowatts – units of energy named after James Watt.
Christiaan Hetzner, Automotive News Europe Germany Correspondent of Automative News, made his plea in an article published this week.
He says: “Now that electric vehicles are becoming a fixed quantity in the auto industry, it’s only a matter of when and not if the public becomes more familiar with watts and specifically kilowatts, the standard used by automotive engineers.”
He adds: “It’s time to give horsepower – in all its various forms – a merciful death. Kilowatts are here to stay.”
James Watt 