New Evetta Openair is retro-styled micro-EV you can soak up the sun in
By: Sam Phillips (Move Electric)
Another retro-styled EV. Tastes vary but some of these European retro-styles are kinda cool.
Yep, these cars are basically oversized golf carts. But this is likely the future for adoption of EVs. With a range of 120 miles and a top speed of 55 mph these vehicles are practical for most needs and are far more affordable than the road boats being hyped by US designers. Choosing between a $60,000 designer car and a $15,000 practical car would seem to favor practicality.
China is building micro-EVs using lead-acid batteries. That, too, is a practical option. Recharging only requires a standard 110 volt outlet and the batteries can be easily replaced. Lead acid batteries are easier to produce and recycle while avoiding the need for exotic materials. But the vehicles that are being produced have a more limited range and top speed.
Micro EVs really are a practical option for adopting electric vehicles. They're a small and affordable vehicle that can be used for daily use. That affordability allows keeping the bigger ICE road boat for longer trips. My five-and-dime crystal ball suggests that people may prefer to augment their transportation with micro-EVs rather than completely abandon their ICE cars.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Meet the Evatta Openair, a drop-top version of the firm's forthcoming Evetta microcar, a tiny EV inspired by the 1950s Isetta bubble car.
Electricbrands recently took over German-based firm Artega that had been developing the Isetta-based micr-electric car.
Previously known as the Karo, the tiny Evetta EV is 2.5 metres long and 1.5 metres wide, with the car almost identical in size to the original car from the 1950s.
Now the firm has confirmed that convertible and cargo variants of the Evetta will join the model range.
The convertible Evetta Openair is equipped with an 18kWh battery - a slightly bigger unit than the one used in the standard car.
Electricbrands claims its new drop-top EV has a range of 200km (124 miles) and a top speed of 90km/h (55mph).
Like its hard-top sibling - and the Bubble Car the Evetta is inspired by - the new Openair has a front opening door.
The soft top roof of the Evetta Openair can be completely removed, with drivers able to operate using a smartphone app.
The Evetta Openair First Edition is limited to 999 units and is available to pre-order now.
"We are really proud of our Evetta. It looks good, is space-saving in the city, efficient and sustainable," said Electricbrands CEO, Martin Henne.
"We are happy that we can already introduce two new versions of the Evetta. It is fun to continue developing this attractive and, at the same time, sustainable light vehicle. We are sure that our two new models will also find their fans, just like our original."
First deliveries of the Openair are expected for the middle of 2023.
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IMO micro-EVs will become more important in the transportation mix than is being recognized by climate politics. The political emphasis has been directed toward favoring the traditional auto makers. But those auto makers are trapped in the road boat paradigm that is good for their bottom line but may not be a practical approach.
Micro-EVs are affordable enough to allow owning both an EV and an ICE vehicle. That mixed approach will likely be more attractive for most car owners.
For this once we agree. Small autonomous electric vehicles are the future for mass transit especially in densely populated urban areas. For safety, health, efficiency and a host of other reasons they make sense. The wildcard in urban traffic is human error.
Autonomous vehicles add another layer of cost and energy consumption to the base vehicle. Auto designers were able to accommodate added features to ICE vehicles by installing a bigger motor. But installing a bigger battery isn't practical because the batteries are already bulky.
IMO autonomous EVs will have limited application because of cost and performance. The autonomy could be incorporated into ICE vehicles more easily than into EVs.
Currently trains are the most autonomous vehicles in use. There isn't any traffic problems or maneuvering to worry about. But trains still require operator attention.
Do you want to know what is really and truly prohibitively expensive? Accidents, injuries, delays, lost productivity and fatalities. My new Subaru has technology like pedestrian recognition, automatic breaking, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control and active accident avoidance as standard equipment.
No, because I live in a highrise apartment and thus cannot yet charge at home like almost all EV owners can and do. That plus I travel to Oklahoma fairly regularly to visit my Mother. I considered a hybrid but decided on a Subaru. Is that not sufficiently liberal enough for you?
Unlike your trailer parks and cheaply built tornado bait Texas apartments, probably 99% of all New Yorkers do not have designated parking spaces. I park on the street like most everyone else here. My apartment is in a "cooperative" meaning that I own shares in the corporation that owns the building and hold a perpetual lease agreement. We have a board that manages the building. It is a socialist structure of ownership very much like Texas Rural Electrical Cooperatives and Farmer's Co-op Cotton Gins and Grain Elevators...
Then you admit 1.1.3 was a stupid comment?
Then, by default, you should be pissed at yourself that you have not demanded of yourself to install charging stations on the street outside of your building.
Are you under some contractual obligation to continually post obnoxious toxic bullshit?
I am not the topic. Mind you own business!
You should be ashamed to post nonsense!
As I stated, it's easier to add those driver assist features to an ICE vehicle. Most ICE vehicles have more power available than is needed so adding features doesn't affect performance or range. Auto makers have relied on that over abundance of power to add a variety of features. But EVs won't have an over abundance of power and simply adding bigger batteries won't be practical.
An autonomous vehicle is a giant step up from a driver assisted vehicle. The sensors and computing capability will be much larger and will require more energy to operate. Autonomy will affect the performance and range of EVs because EVs will not have an over abundance of available power.
Transitioning to EVs really does create an obstacle for building autonomous vehicles. The tradeoffs for performance and range won't be as insignificant for EVs as for ICE vehicles.
I never believed you owned your own trailer park and certainly not an apartment complex!
Nope.
Very rarely have I been wrong.
This certainly is not one of them.
The human driver will screw the whole plan.
Uber and Lyft are fasttracking development of driverless vehicles. I refuse to argue with you. New York and LA will probably lead the way but we are gradually transitioning from human operated internal combustion cars and trucks towards autonomous electric vehicular modules. I expect power will be supplied directly from the roads or tracks making batteries only for offroad / offtrack.
Well, offroad / offtrack use is where the autonomous features are needed most. Yes, major highways could have cables embedded to provide both guidance and power. But that would convert the roadway to something more like a rubber tired train or trolley system. That sort of autonomy would not be very difficult to achieve. But that requires investing in infrastructure rather than technology.
Autonomous vehicles can be designed on an ICE platform or an EV platform. There's nothing magical about EVs that makes autonomous vehicles more feasible.
What is overlooked is the possibility of affordable mobility. The interesting thing about the BMW Isetta bubble car design (which the Evetta design emulates) is that the front of the vehicle is the door. That design feature suggests that the Evetta could be readily adapted for wheelchair access. These micro-EVs allow for more flexible designs on an affordable platform that isn't as feasible with ICE vehicles.
I am all for utilitarian, inexpensive but good quality EVs (safety cannot be compromised). There are many uses for the little commuter EVs and this might increase as we continue in our streaming-based new reality and reduce the need for long daily travels. But I am also in favor of practical mass-transit solutions for the US to cut down the net volume of individual vehicles on the road.
Looks like a cab over riding mower
That green one in the middle of the picture looks like the Eurkle mobile from family matters
When I think back to the cars my father owned, for example a 1960 Cadillac Coupe deVille:
...and then traded for a 1994 Oldsmobile 98,
...cars that needed two parallel parking spots instead of one, I think this latest trend makes fantastic sense, but then better stay off the high speed highways.
I think you mean 1964...............
Thanks, Jim, you're absolutely right - of course it was a '64.
Cute little vehicle, who knows I may get one instead of a golf cart when I finally settle down for retirement
Reminds me of the EGO electric riding mower I just bought. This thing looks like a Lamborghini ran into a John Deere. I popped a wheelie in it when it was in sport mode.