At the beginning of May, the Aachen start-up e.GO presented its first series model e.wave X in Berlin in front of a prominent audience and with brand ambassador Neymar. The small car was developed for use in the city and went on sale on Monday – albeit initially only for those who have already reserved the car. At the start of the Paris Motor Show, the company presented another vehicle: the e.Xpress.
This is a mini delivery van with a specified trunk volume of up to 940 liters and a payload of up to 240 kilograms. The e.Xpress has been designed for commercial use by fleet customers and is intended to provide the solution for long charging times for electric vehicles. The vehicle should be able to travel a maximum of 230 kilometers on one battery charge, but its comparatively small battery should be able to be replaced in “a few minutes”.
The construction of battery exchange stations should eliminate the significantly longer charging time compared to filling up with fuel – as is already the concept of the Chinese electric car manufacturer Nio. e.GO did not say how long it would take to change the battery. On the homepage of his new cooperation partner from the USA, Ample, who wants to guarantee the energy supply with the help of autonomous robots and modular battery structures of electric vehicles, however, there is talk of “less than ten minutes”.
In order for the strategy to work, e.GO wants to set up a network of changing stations for the batteries at selected gas stations, said e.GO board director Ali Vezvaei to the “Automobilwoche”. “In the future, we will replace some conventional gas stations with battery-changing stations,” Vezvaei told the industry journal. He did not say how large the battery replacement network should be. But Vezvaei spoke of “two, three or even five stations in one city”.
The e.Xpress should be available in two variants. Customers can either buy the van as usual or buy it with a subscription that includes the supply and use of energy. With the second offer, the battery is not bought with it. According to e.GO’s plans, orders will be possible from November 2nd. In addition, the German start-up wants to launch a slightly larger delivery van in the USA. In order to be able to implement its production goals, e.GO wants to set up production plants in North Macedonia and Bulgaria in addition to its only plant in Aachen.
Sources: e.GO, Automobilwoche
