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Pilcar, Carville 1977-1981 - Too early for electric cars

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Created in 2011

Text:

Roger Gloor

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Pilcar (1977) - the first electric car from Switzerland for years - Geneva Motor Show 1977

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Pilcar (1977) - very tidy dashboard with sports steering wheel - Geneva Motor Show 1977

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Summary

There were around 10,000 car brands and designers - most of them have disappeared. Pilcar and its further development Carville were comfortable electric cars and can also be counted among them. By 1982, however, only 13 Pilcar and 15 Carville had been produced, as the world was not yet ready for such vehicles.

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

After the First World War, the electric car also disappeared from the market in the USA, but a tiny gap in the road transportation market remained. In the 1970s, for example, Citicar in the USA and Zagato in Italy built small electric cars. The Pilcar, which was presented at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show after seven years of development work, was much more comfortable. Its promoters were the designer Victor Perrenoud from Geneva and the electricity companies L'Electricité Neuchâteloise and Société Romande d'Electricité (Lausanne). Italian-Swiss Franco Sbarro in Grandson was responsible for the design and manufacture.

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