The team has completed the design phase for the battery exchange hybrid electric vehicle and is getting to mill the first full-size vehicle body. As the AXP moves forward, Motive plans to showcase the prototype and partner with powertrain experts from other teams or companies that don’t have their kind of design—or a means of production.
Motive’s four-passenger, two-door “hot hatch” runs about the size of a Toyota Matrix or Volvo C30. It’s a range-extended hybrid that will use a small internal combustion engine as a generator.
The four-year-old company is pairing with Weismann Transmissions to develop the world’s first six-speed EV transmission, with software controls by systems supplier Flextronics.
Motive plans to use an aluminum and composite-steel body structure with an aluminum framework around the battery box—one that lets you easily remove and replace battery packs.
In terms of ultimate feasibility, that’s the big idea behind the Switch: Provide consumers with a hybrid that gets serious range, then make them replace their own batteries.
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