This New Tiny Electric Car Comes With Five Years Of Free Solar Charging

[Rhiannon12866]

The Uniti is a small electric car designed for city driving–and its deal with a solar company makes charging it emissions- and cost-free.

Most electric cars look essentially the same as gas-powered cars have for decades, with a battery swapped in place of an internal combustion engine. But a Swedish electric car startup argues that in the context of modern city life, the entire idea of a car needs more of a reinvention.

Uniti, which launched a prototype of its tiny electric car today, started by rethinking size: If most people living in cities commute to work alone, over short distances, it doesn’t make sense to make an oversized, overpowered vehicle.

“The shift to electric cars is a positive one,” Lewis Horne, Uniti CEO and founder, tells Fast Company. “But it’s clear that we still make them in the same way that traditional combustion engine vehicles are made. With large heavy bodies, in which the battery is not really moving the passengers around, but is moving itself and the vehicle’s heavy frame with it.”

Though the new car comes in models with four and five seats, it also offers a model with only two seats, which will retail at prices starting around $17,000. (Smart Car also makes a small electric model, though it’s slightly more expensive) The frame, made from carbon fiber, is much lighter than a traditional metal frame. The battery is small, at 22 kilowatt-hours versus 100 kWh in some Tesla models, but can last around 186 miles, much farther than a typical round-trip commute. An additional battery, which can be plugged into a regular outlet at home or a cafe, can be added to the car on rarer occasions when it’s needed.


More: https://www.fastcompany.com/40504648/this-new-tiny-electric-car-comes-with-five-years-of-free-solar-charging

[Canoe52]

1. Way kewl!

[Rhiannon12866]

2. It really is very cute - would be great for short distances/commutes

I wouldn't want to take on 18-wheelers on the highway, but it would be very convenient back and forth for local travel.

[caraher]

3. "smartphone-like controls that you swipe instead of pushing buttons"

This such a terrible "feature." If you're driving a vehicle, tactile feedback allows you to take care of auxiliary functions without removing your eyes from the road. I really, really hate the trend toward making everyone poke at sheets of glass. I do appreciate that there is greater flexibility and reliability than conventional buttons in many cases, but some functions are important enough that simple, always-accessible controls you can control without any visual attention are worthwhile.