We integrate insights from the literatures on socio-technical imaginaries (STI) and the multilevel perspective (MLP) frameworks to understand the re-emergence of the electric car, which was instigated by a regime dominated by internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. Employing a "microhistories" methodology, we document how actors in the automotive industry took steps that enabled alternate technologies to form, gain momentum, and eventually coexist with the extant regime. Our account delineates the key role that actors play in defining proto imaginaries, as well as their performativity of these proto imaginaries. We observe interactivity between levels that serves to shape the broader adoption of niche technologies. Our insights highlight how nascent imaginaries and the processes they undergo shape an ongoing technological transition, thereby contributing to and complementing the STI and MLP literatures.
