Urban mobility should be safe, accessible and hassle-free. It should contribute to a liveable, free and open city life. This calls for a smart vehicle that makes life simple for everyone. This fall Squad Mobility presents the world’s first Solar City Car, optimized for shared mobility. The car will be available next year
Robert Hoevers, CEO of Squad Mobility: “Keeping a free-floating fleet charged is one of the main operational costs of an EV sharing fleet operator. The automatic, wireless and free solar charging is of course a wonderful solution.” “Also, cities love solar charging, as this is a sustainable energy source. It decreases the load on the local charging infrastructure and energy demand.” “Cities are looking for zero emission mobility solutions with a small space footprint. We have achieved both. A per capita energy consumption lower than public transport and a space footprint comparable to a bicycle. And all this, while offering the flexibility of personal transport and the comfort of a car”.
Swappable batteries
On top of a 100km range provided by the swappable batteries, automatic solar charging provides up to an extra 20km per day. As the average person in this LEV segment drives 12 km per day, this is enough on most days. Three SQUADS fit comfortably in one parking space. The aluminum tubular frame and roll cage guarantee safe rides. The tires act as bumpers to protect the bodywork. Sensors enable remote diagnosis, e.g., operating condition, charge levels, tire pressure, location, etc.
SQUAD is designed to withstand the wear and tear of heavy use. Both interior and exterior are easy to clean, broken parts are easy to replace. Recycled materials are used where possible. The bill of materials and construction have been optimized, making the SQUAD simply affordable and guaranteeing low CAPEX and OPEX for sharing operators.
Information is key. Users want to know where the vehicles are and what the state of charge is. Squad offers additional information on the state of operation, tire pressures, cleanliness, damage, etc. Operators need all relevant information on the state of the fleet so they can plan maintenance as efficiently as possible. The Squads will be equipped with cameras to check the state of the vehicles and their position in the public space, the usage by the customer and the cause of accidents.
Cameras
Customers tend to be much more careful when the vehicles are equipped with cameras. They can also ask the operator for help when necessary. Finally, cameras offer the possibility for remote control of the vehicle by the operator, for instance, when the vehicle is improperly parked or blocking an exit.
Chris Klok (Chief of Design), “Remote control means we take extra capabilities into account in the design, such as the application of remote actuation of the steering and the possibility to relay data from the CAN bus to the operator and back in a secure way. In the longer term, we envision the use of autonomous technology to control the fleet in the city, for example to move vehicles back to places with high demand or more sunshine for charging.”
The SQUAD Solar City Car is available for pre-order on the website of Squad Mobility.
Read also: Can car sharing contribute to a traffic transformation?
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