Skip to content Electric cars have become popular in recent years thanks to the introduction of the Toyota Prius in 1997. Although the Prius is a hybrid electric vehicle, it reintroduced the world to how much of a positive environmental impact these vehicles can have and led to the continued popularity of these fuel-efficient vehicles. However, the Prius wasn’t the first EV on the market. This title goes to the first commercially successful EV known as the Electrobat, which was patented in 1894.