What is the name of the first production car to use a CVT?

The first production car to use a continuously variable transmission was the DAF 600. Introduced in 1958, it used DAF’s Variomatic system, which changed its ratio continuously rather than selecting from a fixed set of gears.

The Variomatic was developed from the work of Dutch engineer Hub van Doorne and used expanding and contracting pulleys connected by drive belts. As the pulleys changed diameter, the transmission could maintain a useful engine speed across changing road speeds. The DAF 600’s compact, inexpensive design helped make CVT technology practical for a mass-produced passenger car.

A common mix-up is the Toyota Prius, because its hybrid drivetrain uses an electronically controlled power-split transmission often described as an e-CVT. That system became famous decades later, but it was not the first automotive CVT. The Subaru Justy later introduced an electronically controlled steel-belted CVT in 1987, another important milestone in the technology’s development.