Uniti Sweden has announced plans to establish an
electric vehicle “pilot production plant” at Silverstone Park, the home of the
British Grand Prix. The facility will be used to produce the Uniti One electric
car, while serving as a blueprint for globally licensed “digital” assembly
plants throughout the world. The initiative aligns with the UK’s industrial
strategy to lead the world in zero emission and autonomous vehicle
technologies. Uniti anticipates this Industry 4.0 pilot facility to be
operational by 2020, leading the current trend of automation and data exchange
in manufacturing technologies.
Uniti has been working with MEPC at Silverstone Park
to develop a vision for the pilot plant, with further details to be announced
soon. This is the first of several planned initiatives for Uniti to establish
itself in the United Kingdom, working towards a goal of becoming a major player
in the UK’s EV market over the next few years. To date, the Swedish carmaker
has already engaged a team of engineers at an R&D centre in
Northamptonshire while fostering partnerships with local companies such as KW
Special Projects (Light-Weight Structure and Additive Manufacturing), Danecca
(EV Powertrain), and Unipart (Global Supply Chain). Concurrent to Uniti’s
engineering activities in Silverstone, the company is setting up an office in
London to ensure capital is raised for UK operations on a timescale meaningful
to their plans.
Uniti plans to unveil its production models in late
2019 and deliver vehicles to pre-order customers throughout northern Europe
shortly thereafter. As the UK represents a key market, the Swedish carmaker has
recently announced a limited equity crowdfunding campaign through UK-based
Crowdcube to give British investors an opportunity to own shares in the
company.The production model is to be unveiled in late 2019. Deliveries of
pre-ordered cars in northern Europe should begin shortly thereafter. Pre-orders require € 149 deposits
and according to Autocar, some 3,000 were already placed.
Uniti One target specifications:
- 240 km of range
- top speed: 130 km/h
- Rear wheel drive, Dual motors output of 120 kW
- 26 kWh battery pack, DC fast charging
- 25 min from 20-80% on standard charge
- 450 kg of curb weight, 900 kg gross weight
