Earlier in 2024 I came across an obscure reference to the French fortified village of Cacassonne looking for wind turbines to charge their electric trucks just after WWII. (See Famous Fortified French Village Proposes a Wind Turbine to Power its EVs. . . in 1946!)
More recently I came across another reference to a wartime French EV designed to avoid fuel rationing. From 1941 to 1943 Peugeot built the VLV (Voiture Légère de Ville or light city car). Powered by four 12-volt batteries (48 V), the 3.3 hp cabriolet had a range of ~50 mi (80 km) and a top speed of 22 mph (36 kmph). The two-seater was used by letter carriers and doctors.
Peugeot built only 377 of the cars before the Nazi occupiers banned its production.
For more photos of this unusual vehicle, see Peugeot VLV. See also the video of one in use.
- Famous Fortified French Village Proposes a Wind Turbine to Power its EVs. . . in 1946!
- Another French War Time EV: CGE’s Tudor Electrique
1941 Peugeot VLV driving at Maurice Dufresne Museum
