A new electric car has been designed and will hit the market next year. Unlike other cars having thousands of parts, it will have less than 100. the two-seater car is completed in just three days according to the manufacturer. The LSEV is produced by XEV Limited, a startup firm from Hong Kong. It will hit Europe and the Asian market first. Expectations are that it will hit the market in April 2019 with a starting price of $10,000.
The car’s length is 2.5 metres, while its width and height are 1.3 m and 1.5 m respectively. It weighs 450 kg and can cover 150 km at a top speed of 70 km/h on a fully charged battery. The majority of the car is 3D printed. XEV has partnered with Polymaker, a Shanghai-based new material developer to enhance the materials and to make the car more flexible and stable. The other metal parts are made through conventional means.
50 people at XEV designed the car from scratch. The company also crafted 3D printers, special for this project. The company is working on six more cars that are expected to be completed by the end of July. Lou Tik, the founder of XEV Limited and Robert Moretti, the Italian co-founder and 3D printing director started this project two years ago. They won €2million funding after winning Horizon 2020, EU’s largest program for research and innovation.
The team wanted to make 3D printed cars that they could sell on the market from the beginning and will officially open the production line next year. Making 3D printed cars can cut down costs by 90% by speeding up the production cycle by three-quarters.
This allows them to absorb energy during impact and add strength and stiffness to the car. The 3D printed process is very efficient and can be tweaked as per the customer’s wishes. These 3D printed cars will be a huge success once they make their way to the market.
You can check it out in the video below:
https://youtu.be/M-X-rN2yXfs