Daihatsu EV1

The Daihatsu EV1 was a concept car that Daihatsu designed as an electric test vehicle and first unveiled at the 1973 Tokyo Motor Show. Only one unit was built. It used two 5.6 kilowatt electric motors mounted at the rear and driving the rear axle, fed by a 21.1 kilowatt-hour battery housed in a removable tray so that it could be charged more easily. Together the motors gave up to 11.2 kilowatts, and Daihatsu claimed an acceleration time of 2.4 seconds from 0 to 30 kilometres per hour and a top speed of 89 kilometres per hour. It is an early example of a Japanese maker testing battery-electric drive and has no connection with the General Motors car of the same abbreviation.