Some cars leave a paper trail; the Volvo EC left a name and a place in Volvo's list. What follows is what can be said with a source behind it.
The story
Volvo EC (“Volvo Electric Car”) was a concept car, which was built by Volvo in 1976. The car was developed in the backdrop of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and 1973 oil crisis. At the conference Volvo chair Pehr G. Gyllenhammar had stated: "As a car manufacturer we are part of the problem, and therefore we must be part of the solution". The project was in part sponsored by Televerket, which wanted to be able to cover short distances without producing emissions. Televerket intended to use the car for its staff in Gothenburg. Two versions were built, a red 4-seater and a yellow 2-seater, with the former intended as a commuter vehicle and the latter as a delivery vehicle. Both cars were similar, but the yellow car had a sliding door. The yellow Volvo EC was only 2.46 metres (96.9 in) in length.
The car weighed around 2000 pounds. Power was supplied by 12 six volt batteries. The car needed ten hours of charging, for two hours (50 miles) of driving. The battery pack could be removed via the front bumper. The car had 13 horsepower. It had a top speed of 70 km/h (43 mph). The Volvo EC never entered production. The red car is located at the World of Volvo. The location of the yellow vehicle is unknown.
Its place in the line
Nearby in the Volvo catalogue sit the Volvo 144 and the Volvo 264 TE.
What it costs now
The money question first: $37,200–$53,600 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $1,155–$1,505 a year. Insurance sits around $2,050–$2,930 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.