> Just about the only successful EV of the era was the golf cart and that's very niche.

Electric milk floats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_float) were common even in the 1960s, and, I think, decades earlier.

Electric forklifts have been common since a long time, too. Not having an exhaust is a big advantage when operating one indoors.

(Both also fairly nice, but milk floats where used on public roads and fork lifts require much more power than golf carts)