The first modern electric car

Published: Aug. 31, 2021, 8 a.m.

This electric car revolution is finally on the horizon: many car manufacturers have promised to make only electric vehicles in the near future, in response to the climate emergency. But the first mass-produced modern electric car, the General Motors EV1, was launched back in 1996. Within a few short years it was scrapped: almost every vehicle was recalled and crushed, and the car of the future disappeared in history\u2019s rear-view mirror. Viv Jones hears the story from one of the car\u2019s creators, research engineer Wally Rippel.

Photo: The GM EV1 (Kim Kulish/Sygma via Getty Images)