Who is AeroVironment?

More than 20 years ago the idea of a practical electric car was a twinkle in the eye of Paul MacCready, AV's founder and inventor of the first successful human powered airplane. After developing the Sunraycer, a solar-powered race car that beat its competitors in a race across Australia by more than 2 days, Dr. MacCready and his team proposed a radical idea to General Motors: develop an electric car that was a practical alternative to gas-powered cars. GM liked the idea, and hired AV to develop a prototype. Soon after, the first practical electric car, the GM Impact, was born. AV spent the next two decades developing electric and hybrid-electric vehicle concepts for customers, and creating charging systems and test systems designed to make EVs more practical.

Today AV is a leading supplier of high-power test systems used by automakers and advanced battery manufacturers to develop the next generation of electric vehicles. AV's industrial charging systems reliably power thousands of heavy-duty electric forklifts every day, making workplaces safer and more productive. We also supply portable, electric-powered unmanned aircraft that have changed the way military ground forces operate.

At AV, we believe that innovative new ideas can help improve people's lives.

Built on a history of practical innovation, our EV charging solutions represent an important contribution to a cleaner, brighter future.

Our Small Role in a Powerful Transportation Revolution

1987 GM Sunraycer solar vehicle
1989 GM Impact electric vehicle
1999 EV charger for USAF
2000 #1 EV test system in US
2005 Enterprise-wide EV charger implementation at Ford Motor Company
2009 EV home charger development
2010 First planned deliveries of EV home chargers

Join us and help write the next chapter in transportation history.