Volvo EC (concept car)

The Volvo EC, short for Volvo Electric Car, was a concept car that Volvo built in 1976. It grew out of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and the 1973 oil crisis, when Volvo chairman Pehr G. Gyllenhammar said that as a car maker Volvo was part of the problem and so had to be part of the solution. The project was sponsored in part by Televerket, which wanted to cover short distances in Gothenburg without producing emissions. Two versions were built, a red four seater meant for commuting and a yellow two seater meant for deliveries. The yellow car was only 2.46 metres long, weighed about 2,000 pounds and ran on twelve six volt batteries, which needed ten hours of charging for two hours of driving. The EC never entered production, and the red car is kept at the World of Volvo.