The electric cars of the 80s before Nissan and Tesla

In the 80s the prevalence of fossil fuels was universal but some electric cars were also launched by some automakers since the energy crisis of the 1970s gave partial impetus to start the automotive industry around the world from America to the far east to produce electric and hybrid cars , but of course in a very small number.

The choices that the consumer has had since 1980 were not particularly many in terms of electric vehicles since there were very few manufacturers who tried to get involved in this technology. So let’s see what options the consumer had to buy an electric car in the ’80s.

Enfield 8000

The Enfield 8000 had lead acid batteries while its production was started in England by the company’s director Konstantinos Adrakta and then continued on to Syros, a beautiful island in Greece.

Five vehicles were built in Great Britain but a major factory strike has resulted in production being halted. The shipowner Giannis Goulandris bought the company and wanted to continue it in Syros. The shipowner also hires designer John Ackroyd to train local boat and small boat repairers how to build cars and forge aluminum onto molds.

Despite the remarkable effort, however, the company has not been able to produce more than 150 cars. On the other hand, the junta and the Karamanlis government then did not give the special permission they needed. Enfield 8000 was the first electric car in Europe.

Read also : Volkswagen Beetle became fully electric from eClassics

Daihatsu Charade Electric

Japanese’s Daihatsu automaker undertook to build a limited number of electric vehicles on behalf of the company with which it was working in Australia. Electric version of the legendary model had a highly accepted exterior design compared to other models of the time. Charade was presented at the EV Expo 80 in Adelaide while the top speed reached 75 km/h

Electricar Leopard 960

It is an electric car that gathers the know-how of the Americans in motoring. The US Electricar corporation decided in the late 1970s to release a four-seater sports electric car that reached 80 km/h. Its price reached $11,000 and was released in various versions. Also the coupe version had gotten a lot of data from Fiat and the Strada model.

Read more : Beer truck was Skoda first electric vehicle

Hybrid Briggs & Stratton

Designed in collaboration with Brookes Stevens Design Associates and had hybrid technology with a range of up to 480 km. The car had six wheels and was probably not the most well-designed vehicle in the history of the automotive industry even though it was once considered innovative. The top speed was 112 km/h.

CitiCar electric

CitiCar was one of the first electric cars released in the USA and specifically in Florida by Sebring-Vanguard and later by Commuter Vehicles where 4400 cars were sold and its design was copied by several European companies.

Read also : SCHWALBE : The electric retro performance scooter

Volvo Elbil

The Volvo Elbil was a lilliputian car from the Swedish company with great practicality and was produced in two versions, one with four seats and one with two seats. It was a city car of the 70s that had a top speed of 70 km/h.

Suzuki Alto EV

The Suzuki Alto was another legendary car of the Japanese company that was a huge success while also coming out in an electric version. It was a three-door with two seats and it took 8 hours to fully charge the battery.

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