David Electrics, 1939

In 1939 the David motor car company of Barcelona launched a fleet of ten electric taxis based on Opel and Citroën chassis, with motors and batteries by the Camilo Tinto company. This filmstrip shows the taxis in action and illustrates their charging process, with battery packs being swapped out with a winch.

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Shot of a line of ten taxis parked in a lot, with pine trees and decorative streetlights in the background.

Cut to a close-up of a man in uniform sitting behind the wheel of one of the vehicles. A flag connected to a meter in the window reads “LIBRE.” Cut to a close-up of the front of several of the vehicles, taken from ground level.

Cut to a different wide shot of the same lot, showing bike and foot traffic on the road beyond. Two of the taxis pull out of the lot and turn left into the street.

Cut to a panning shot taken from in front of a gas station, showing a residential street; there is almost no car traffic visible, only several people on bicycles. One of the taxis pulls into the gas station, where two attendants in overalls are waiting. As the taxi stops they walk to the front of the car and begin undoing latches on its hood. The driver gets out of the taxi. 

Cut to a shot of the two attendants lifting the hood off the car, while a third crouches down and begins to undo a bolt on the front bumper with a crank. Cut to a close-up of the attendant undoing the bolt.

Wide shot of the three attendants lifting the entire nose assembly of the car off and placing it to one side. Close-up of the interior workings of the car, revealing a large rectangular battery box connected to complicated electrical switches. An attendant disconnects a latch holding the battery box in place.

Wide shot of one attendant attaching a set of hooks to the top of the battery box while another wheels a compact winch into place over the front of the taxi. The attendant cranks the winch, and the battery box can be seen rising in the background. One attendant wheels the winch and box away, with a second attendant steadying the box.

Reverse shot of a different attendant with a different winch and box. He aligns the battery box with the open front of the car, slowly lowering the winch.

Rapid cut to two attendants closing and securing the reassembled hood of the car. Close-up on the complicated switches under the hood, showing several moving. 

Cut to a ground-level close-up of the front of the car, then a tracking shot from the rear of a moving vehicle showing two of the taxis, plus several other compact electric cars, driving along a parade route on a street lined with crowds of people. The cars slowly approach the camera. Cut to black.