General Motors EV1

The "General Motors EV1", often simplified to "GM EV1", is a battery electric car produced by the American automobile manufacturer General Motors. It was produced from 1996 until its demise in 1999, but the EV1 program ended four years later.

A subcompact car, the General Motors EV1 marked the introduction of mass produced and purpose-built battery electric vehicles. The conception of the EV1 dates back to 1990 when General Motors introduced the battery electric "Impact" prototype, upon which the design of the production EV1 was largely inspired. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) enacted a mandate in 1990, stating that the seven leading automakers marketing vehicles in the United States must produce and sell zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) to maintain access to the California market.

Mass production commenced in 1996. In its initial stages of production, most of them were leased to consumers in California, Arizona, and Georgia. Within a year of the EV1's release, leasing programs were also launched in various other American states. In 1998 General Motors unveiled a series of adaptations for the EV1, encompassing a series hybrid, a parallel hybrid, a compressed natural gas variant, as well as a four-model model, all of which served as prototypes for possible potential future models. Despite favorable customer reception, General Motors believed that electric cars occupied an unprofitable niche of the automobile market. The company ultimately crushed most of the cars, and in 2001 General Motors terminated the EV1 program, disregarding protests from customers.

Since its demise, the EV1's cancellation has remained a subject of dispute and controversy. Electric car enthusiasts, environmental interest groups, and former EV1 lessees have accused the company of self-sabotaging its electric car program to avoid potential losses in spare parts sales, while also blaming the oil industry for conspiring to keep electric cars off the road.