The history of electric 4×4s has yet to begin.  Even though there has been some innovation in the industry, by and large there are no electric 4×4s that can be purchased for a reasonable price and drive on or off the road like a normal 4×4.  What has happened up to now will be an eventual footnote or paragraph at the start of the history — and that’s about all.

With that disclaimer in mind, what has happened so far?  Well, not much.  In this decade, there has been a lot of research and testing of electrification, but rather than actually making a 4×4 fully electric, different aspects of the car have been electrified so that things can slowly move into the direction of full electrification.

A good example of this is adding electric components to the car such as in 2004 with the Honda Boss 390.  Another example of this would be the creation of hybrid engines, although, as of now, not one of them has really come along that could match the raw power of a combustion engine.  4×4 vehicles are generally all about raw power, so not surprisingly, hybrid and electric engines have not really come along that well in this particular area.

In the end, to give electric 4×4 vehicles a change, they would need a lot of available electricity, combined with an excellent storage system advanced from current technology. And unless we start powering vehicles with nuclear reactors, it seems as though that is a long way off.

What is going on in terms of electrifying 4×4 vehicles right now is individual modification.  You will see many electric 4×4 vehicles available from small companies and individuals that have altered them to either be hybrids or otherwise fully electric vehicles.  They are interesting projects to say the least, but from the point of view of the mass market that is just about all that they are.  Current trends in the 4×4 industry are individual rather than serious market in nature and that effectively means that there is no electric 4×4 industry.

That having been said, a lot of the vehicles that are churned out by people doing the modifications are very interesting vehicles.  They will not drive very far or very fast most of the time, but the fact that a 4×4 can be propelled by a single battery in some cases is something that is very encouraging indeed.  And who knows, it is quite possible that these alterations might lay the groundwork for someone to start a company that mass produces electric 4×4s at some point in the future.