Squad Mobility, a Dutch EV start-up founded by two ex-Lightyear employees, has launched a new compact, affordable solar-electric car. Designed to rival the Renault Twizy, it will retail for around €5,750 (roughly £4,900) excluding VAT when it goes on sale in 2021. It’s currently available to order, for European customers only, with a €500 (£430) reservation fee.
The Squad has been designed primarily for urban use, with the brand’s CEO Robert Hoevers claiming its solar roof can recover up to 9,000km (roughly 5,500 miles) of range per year in a sunny country. This equates to around 30km (19 miles) or one hour of city driving per day for 300 days of the year.
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If extra range is required, the Squad can be specced with larger battery packs and can be charged using a conventional socket. The entry-level variant will have a maximum speed of 45km/h (28mph) – although the company plans to offer a faster 80km/h (50mph) model should demand be met.
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The Squad offers space for two adult passengers, with a further two jumper seats over the rear axle for children up to 1.25 metres tall. Its styling is intentionally minimalistic, featuring only the bare minimum amount body work to keep the worst of the weather at bay.
Chris Klok, Squad Mobility’s Chief of Design, said: “The goal was to develop a distinctive, youthful, accessible and fresh design for this new category and to disrupt the car archetype of people moving about in their own little box. We want to make this a more social, interactive experience where the passengers feel included in their urban environment, while still enjoying the comfort of protection from weather and sun.
“The roof, windshield and floor will keep you dry on most days. We figured that this is good enough for most of us. Waiting for public transport and/or walking that last mile to your destination is also not often completely dry. If you really want to be 100 per cent dry, we offer side protection covers as an accessory.”
The Squad is based on a compact all-electric platform which occupies a footprint of only 2m square. Squad Mobility says this means four Squads can be parked crosswise in a standard car parking space. The Dutch brand has also developed a cargo/delivery model, with additional storage space at the rear.
What do you make of the Squad? Let us know in the comments section below…
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