On this day in auto history – March 9th

Tue 9th Mar 2021

It was on this day in 1967 that Ford stole the headlines at the Geneva Auto Show by unveiling the pioneering Ford Comuta - the first electric car to be produced by a major manufacturer. 

Half the size of a Cortina and using technology similar to a milk float, the Comuta was only produced as a concept vehicle but Ford UK’s chairman Leonard Crossland said at the time: "We expect electric cars to be commercially feasible within the next 10 years.”

As it happened, despite spending around £160 million (in today’s money) researching electric car technology, Ford withdrew within a few years to ‘await a breakthrough in battery technology.’

One of the few Ford Comutas ever built remains on exhibition at London's Science Museum.