Enfield 8000

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The Enfield 8000 was a 2-seater battery-electric city car, introduced in 1971 and originally built in the United Kingdom by Enfield Automotive. The company was acquired by the Greek Neorion company and production was transferred to the Greek island of Syros (it thus became part of a new Greek company, Enfield-Neorion, headquartered in Piraeus). The car had a top speed of over 100 km/h (62 mph), and a range of 80–145 km. Ironically, it could not be legally sold in Greece, so all production was exported to the United Kingdom (only around 100 were manufactured). Enfield-Neorion developed some vehicles itself in Greece, including a "jeep" version of the 8000 model aiming at the rent-a-car market in the Greek islands. However, no permit was issued for mass production of the latter, due to tax categorization issues connected with its electric power. The whole venture was terminated in 1976. There have been claims that its fate was connected to interests that "fought" development of electric vehicle production worldwide.