Answer: Porsche

It would be easy to assume that the first electric hybrid vehicle was the Toyota Prius, introduced to the automotive market in 1997. It was everywhere in the news, the focus of much public debate and commentary, and practically the poster child for the hybrid vehicle movement. While it might have been the face of the very late 20th century rise of the hybrid vehicle, it was also very late to the party.

The start of the 20th century saw an equally strong interest in hybrid vehicles that is unbeknownst to most people today. The first hybrid automobile was created by Ferdinand Porsche. The vehicle was a 4WD hybridization of an electric carriage outfitted with a gasoline engine. The model was called the Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid due to its being manufactured by Porsche’s then-employer the Lohner Coach Factory. Between Porsche’s early design and the late 1920s, the world saw a flurry of hybrid vehicle production.