Automatic electric airsoft guns are created due to the extensive popularity of airsoft guns during the year 1990s. The first electric airsoft gun was created in Japan due to the fact that airsoft guns with higher efficiency, better performance and more power are needed. As time goes by, external modifications such as reinforced plastics and metal bodies are done to the airsoft guns which make them look more realistic. Each improvement actually pushes up the popularity of electric airsoft guns.
Tokyo Marui, a Japanese airsoft gun manufacturer manufactures the most popular airsoft guns. The automatic electric gun manufactured by them is one of the most powerful ones available on the market due to the fact that it has a motor which drives a series of 3 gears mounted inside a gearbox. Other manufacturers have modified or replicate this model and they can be found easily. The first electric-powered handgun capable of full-automatic fire, which is the automatic electric pistol or AEP, is also introduced by Marui.
Wondering why electric airsoft guns are different from the other types of airsoft guns? This is because they use electrical power from an onboard battery to drive a motor which in turn turns gears inside the gun for the purpose of compressing and releasing a piston. The BB is then propelled by a blast of air which is created by the piston. They have the capability of a Rate of Fire (ROF) of 300 to 900 rounds per minute (RPM), and have muzzle velocities ranging from 200 and 400 feet per second which caused them to be known as automatic electric guns(AEG).
You can find electric airsoft guns easily in international market due to its high popularity and wide availability. They are usually preferred by skirmish veterans.