German EV startup e.Go Mobile has
been in the news over the past few days as VW has confirmed it as the first
recipient of its MEB platform, following the company’s decision to open its EV
architecture to other carmakers. While e.Go Mobile hasn’t announced yet which MEB-based model it will
build, word on the street is VW might outsource production of the ID Buggy to
the Aachen-based company.
Until we have an official
confirmation on that, it’s worth noting that e.Go Mobile has a stand of its own
at the Geneva Motor Show with four premieres on display. For starters, the
company has brought the series-production version of the e.Go Life electric
city car which enters production this month.
There’s also a sporty take on
that car called e.Go Life Concept Sport, as well as another concept called e.Go
Lux. First things first, the e.Go Life production car is a four-seater,
short-range EV that will go into production in mid-March at the company’s
Aachen plant, with deliveries scheduled to begin in early May 2019. Featuring a space frame made of
aluminum profiles and a plastic outer skin, the e.Go Life is light and very
reasonably priced — for an EV, at least. Slightly shorter than a Fiat 500, the
no-frills city car starts at € 15,900 in Germany for the Life 20
version.
For that money, customers get
14.9 kWh battery, a 27 hp electric motor and 121 km of
NEDC-measured range. There are two other versions available (Life 40 and Life
60) that offer more power and longer driving ranges. e.Go already has 4,300
pre-orders for the Life EV.
The e.Go Life Concept Sport
unveiled in Geneva envisions a better-equipped, sportier version of the
electric city car. It features a bolder design, sporty chassis, and higher
performance — although no specs were released. Additionally, it gets a
better-quality interior with a panoramic glass roof.
e.Go Mobile also has two electric
minibuses on display in Geneva. The e.Go Mover near-production concept previews
a self-driving minibus with a capacity of up to 15 passengers. It will be built
by e.Go Moove, a joint venture between e.Go Mobile and ZF, starting in April
2020. At first, it will be road-approved as a manually driven but in the future
it’s intended to be autonomous thanks to the software and hardware architecture
from ZF. Finally, the e.Go Lux is a luxury shuttle based on the Mover.
Intended for private trips, it can be used as a mobile conference or living
room while on the move.
