Objective: The vision behind the vehicle was to create a sustainably manufactured small car, with a platform that could be modified to suit alternative drive trains and vehicles.
Strategy: The vehicle is a 4 passenger electric car designed to appeal to the city driver, who for the most part is traveling alone or with one other passenger. Part of the design criteria was to make a compact city vehicle while not compromising interior space. A unique feature on the car is the location of the front wheels making it a very cab forward design. The team made this possible by having the doors forward shut line open right up into the wheel well, creating ingress/egress without compromise. The very cab forward profile and compact front end make it easy to maneuver in tight traffic.
Working with Alberta Innovated Technology Futures and Fiberwerx in Sylvan Lake Motive has produced bio composite parts for the vehicle representing different material layups to test the optimal configuration for the panels. Current test show that the use of the bio composite material will generate a weight reduction over conventional composite materials.
Results: The vehicle has been featured in articles by CBC, the Financial Post, the Calgary Herald, Reuters, Vancouver Sun, Fox News, The Windsor Star and Composites Technology Magazine.
