EV1: How General Motors crushed an Electric Car dream This video can not be played Before the Prius and Tesla, came the EV1. The World 's first mass-produced Electric Car was launched by General Motors back in 1996 and was capable of nought to 60 in Eight Seconds . However, within a few short years, almost every vehicle was recalled and crushed, and the Electric Car of The Future disappeared in history's rear-view mirror. Witness History spoke to Wally Rippel, research engineer for AeroVironment, a Californian company that developed the EV1s predecessors for General Motors .
