Electric vehicles in 1959

In 1959 the Henney Kilowatt was introduced and was the world's initial modern transistor-regulated electric car and the predecessor to the more recent battery electric vehicles such as General Motors EV1. Only 47 Henney Kilowatts were created, 24 being sold as 1959 models and 8 as 1960 models. It is not clear what happened to the other 15 built but it could be probable that they were sold as 1961 or 1962 models. None of the 8 1960 models were sold in the direction of the public because of the high manufacturing costs, but were sold to the electric cooperatives who funded the project.

It is estimated that there are connecting four and eight Henney Kilowatt battery electric vehicles still in existence with at least two of the survivors still driven at times.

Battery electric vehicles had issues with high battery costs, with restricted travel distances, with charging time and the lifespan of the battery, although advancements in battery technology has addressed a lot of those problems.