Photo by Maarten Vinkhuyzen / CleanTechnica

The XEV YOYO Is The Real Electric Urban Runaround

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

XEV is an Italian startup that has designed the real urban runaround. It is a lightweight electric two-seater.

It is perfect for city driving at up to 50 km/h (31 mph). Accelerating to 60 km/h (37 mph) is possible, but not sporty. For visiting the countryside, the country roads outside the city limits, there is a “Sporty” mode that allows speeds up to 80 km/h (50 mph). It is only sporty, though, as if you are comparing a turtle to a snail.

Do not think about highways, not even those with a 55 mph (90 km/h) speed limit. The power is just not there. But city driving in cramped European cities, or lazily cruising through endless American suburbs — for that kind of driving, it is perfect.

The functionality is minimalistic, but complete. There is heating, cooling, and a Bluetooth connection with your smartphone for music and control through the app, mirroring your smartphone on the 10.25” touchscreen.

XEV center touch screen
XEV center touchscreen

Basic safety features are present: pedestrian warning, brake force control, hill-start assist, and light single- pedal driving.

At the IAA Mobility Summit in Munich, Bayern (DE), XEV offered a 15-minute test drive, which is just enough to experience the usability of the vehicle. The model is what the many small 2-seat city cars are intending to be. But they were either too underpowered to avoid the need for a driver’s license, or too high spec’ed trying to offer the highway performance of a complete real car. The first suffered from usability in traffic, and the latter were too expensive.

This Italian entrance into the segment is expensive compared to what it offers in functionality. But the main sales argument is the styling and personal expression it enables. The 3D-printed side panels made to specifications enable a high touch of personalization, or branding.

XEV 3D printed side boards
XEV 3D printed side panels

It combines Italian flair with un-Italian engineering and production quality. It could have benefited from a higher power-to-mass ratio, but not as high as the Renault Twizzy has. The Twizzy drives more like a 4-wheel bike than a car, and it scares many prospects.

XEV two sides same car, who said both sides should look the same?
XEV: Two sides, same car. Who said both sides should look the same?

What makes the XEV stand out, besides the colorful side panels, is the battery swap system. The battery is divided in three modules that can be separately swapped. The intention is to build first dozens and later thousands of swapping stations. If needed, I could swap the battery. And with my body being long past its prime, that is a great accomplishment of the designers.

XEV battery bay
XEV battery bay
XEV battery swapping storage and charging console
XEV battery swapping storage and charging console

Swapping stations look just like vending machines in the front of a shop. Most will have an attendant to help with the swap. Swapping is a 3-minute job, but normal charging is also possible.

For the rollout of this car, the geographical unit of entrance is not a country, but a city. The chicken and egg problem with the sales demand and lack of charging stations is very local. The ability to swap the battery makes this microcar so much more attractive, but it is usable without a network of charging stations.

With the current trend to bring the speed limit for entire cities down to 30 km/h (20 mph), this type of vehicle will become a lot more popular. I would love to test it in an inner-city like Amsterdam, Brussels, or Paris.

XEV info board
XEV info board
XEV inside door
XEV inside door
XEV inside view passenger seat
XEV inside view passenger seat
XEV interior view
XEV interior view
XEV rear view with open battery bay
XEV rear view with open battery bay
XEV front view
XEV front view
XEV sun roof
XEV sun roof
XEV side mirrors' controls
XEV side mirror controls
XEV driver's view of steering wheel and controls
XEV driver’s view of steering wheel and controls
XEV center controls
XEV center controls

Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica.TV Videos

Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

Maarten Vinkhuyzen

Grumpy old man. The best thing I did with my life was raising two kids. Only finished primary education, but when you don’t go to school, you have lots of time to read. I switched from accounting to software development and ended my career as system integrator and architect. My 2007 boss got two electric Lotus Elise cars to show policymakers the future direction of energy and transportation. And I have been looking to replace my diesel cars with electric vehicles ever since. At the end of 2019 I succeeded, I replaced my Twingo diesel for a Zoe fully electric.

Maarten Vinkhuyzen has 280 posts and counting. See all posts by Maarten Vinkhuyzen