e-R3VOLT
From petrol to electric car in just eight hours: German start-up wants to make old cars future-proof
The e-R3VOLT team has set itself the task of completely converting vehicles to an electric drive within one day.
© e-R3VOLT / PR
Producing a new electric car costs a lot of resources. It can be easier and cheaper to give existing cars a new drive. A company from Bavaria wants to do exactly that – within a very short time.
There are already projects that have set themselves the task of doing exactly that – such as Mini Recharged, a program from BMW that wants to give old city cars a new chance (you can find out more here). However, these are usually individual interventions, the costs and duration of which vary. What was missing so far was some kind of standardized process that would make the conversion easier to plan and more efficient. Until now.
Electric car in just one day – thanks to the ready-made conversion kit
The young company e-R3volt from Dachau has set itself the task of “converting cars into digital, upgradeable electric vehicles within a day”. Even if the start-up is obviously still in its early stages.
Theoretically, the conversion works like this: After an initial assessment to determine whether the vehicle to be converted is suitable for the conversion, the actual work begins. First, the old engine and all components that are no longer needed for future operation must be removed. Through careful expansion, e-R3volt intends to continue using or correctly recycling.
A kind of frame is then installed in the cleared engine compartment, which contains the battery, electric motor and all the necessary components. The frame is attached where the combustion engine was previously attached.
The current battery allows e-R3volt converted vehicles to have an estimated range of 250 to 300 kilometers on a single charge, but development continues to improve this performance. What the electric motor does is not clear from the information available about the project so far.
Modular set for more future security
The frame has a modular structure so that individual components can be replaced or expanded at a later date. To control and control the new engine, the converted vehicles then receive a new infotainment system that provides access to the car’s functions. Through the digital upgrade, e-R3volt also wants to enable access to innovative apps and special navigation solutions for electric cars.
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Those interested do not have to go to Dachau for the conversion – the plan is to work with partner workshops near the customers. Online sales of the conversion kits are not offered; customers currently have to contact e-R3volt using the contact form. Customers currently find out very little about delivery times and partner workshops on the company’s homepage unless they proactively ask.
If you decide to convert, the work should be completed after just one working day, according to the company. In an interview with “Euronews” Rolf Behling revealed, Head of vehicle development The costs for the conversion range between 12,000 and 15,000 euros. e-R3volt is currently talking about ready-made conversion kits for 42 different models, including common vehicles such as the Volkswagen Golf and Polo, Audi A3 and Seat Leon.