The cost of a new electric car is frequently cited as one of the primary turn-offs for car owners looking to make greener, more sustainable choices. But what if you could just convert your existing car at a reasonable price?
Converting fossil fuel-guzzling vehicles into battery-powered ones is not a new concept, with the principle even being applied to vintage cars to make them fit for purpose in the modern, eco-conscious era.
The process, however, can be both lengthy and expensive, with existing companies quoting anywhere from two weeks to six months to carry out the required work on an internal combustion engine (ICE) car.
With a novel workflow and battery design, a start-up based in Germany now believes it can cut customer waiting times down to as little as eight hours. Not only that, it can convert up to 42 different models from major car manufacturers - including the Volkswagen Golf and Polo, Audi A3, and Seat Leon - with a one-size-fits-all kit.
"We take out the combustion engine and we have a frame which uses the old points of the engine," Timo Walden, project manager at e-Revolt and one of the company’s first investors, explained. "And so we can easily swap only the engine with the new frame and the components. And that's why we are much faster."
Costing between €12,000 ($13,000) and €15,000 ($16,250) to complete the job, the price point may give some reassurance to many consumers who currently can’t stretch their budgets to buy a new EV.
The current battery life gives cars converted by e-Revolt an estimated range of about 190 miles on a single charge, but development is ongoing to improve this performance.