An electric vehicle concept for the urban delivery market has been developed by design company Astheimer and WMG, Warwick University’s R&D department.
Named the Deliver-E, the vehicle is based on a Renault Twizy platform, is fitted with a 48V 6.5kWh battery system with a peak power of 36kW, and has an open-platform vehicle control system with a touchscreen interface.
The battery system is the first module produced by WMG’s new automated battery production line for electric vehicles, developed as part of the Automated Module-to-pack Pilot Line for Industrial Innovation project, which has created a UK supply chain for hybrid and electric vehicle battery packs.
Astheimer developed the WMG concept, enlarging the vehicle’s rear storage area for three online delivery baskets. It also added new body panels to the Deliver-E and fitted it with programmable LED pixel strips, which can change colour for brake and indicator lights.
Astheimer founder and creative director Carsten Astheimer said: “The Deliver-E is the result of an intensive 10-week collaborative project between Astheimer and WMG to design and build an electric delivery vehicle prototype. This unique collaboration showcases the design and prototyping capabilities of Astheimer.
“We are working on several projects at the forefront of electric transportation and autonomous technology, anticipating the future of mobility, which will be dominated by electric vehicles as emission controls tighten and on-line acquisitions increase."
Professor Dave Greenwood of WMG, said “It’s great to be able to showcase some of the technologies that we’re working on in a real driveable vehicle – this really helps us bring home the benefits of the technologies we develop at WMG, and helps industry see how they may adopt them.”