Poland is one of Europe’s biggest
producers of automobiles but the country lacks a carmaker to call its own ever
since FSO stopped making cars there in 2011. ElectroMobility Poland, a
state-backed joint venture set up in 2016 by four Polish power companies, wants
to solve that problem. Enter Izera, a new car brand named after the Izera
Mountains in southwestern Poland. Last week, ElectroMobility Poland unveiled
two electric vehicle prototypes: an SUV and a hatchback codenamed Z100 and
T100, respectively.
The goal is for both models to enter
production in 2023, turning the idea of a Polish electric car into a reality.
When (and if) the EVs enter production, they will most likely feature some
changes compared to these prototypes, though ElectroMobility Poland’s CEO Piotr
Zaremba says the production models “will retain the characters of the presented
vehicles”.
Both the SUV and the hatchback promise
interesting, though not groundbreaking, specifications. Zero to 100 km/h should
take less than 8 seconds while the driving range will reach up to 400 km. Izera aims to offer two battery packs compatible with power wall home
chargers as well as fast-charging stations.
For now, details about the vehicle
architecture are scarce, but ElectroMobility Poland says it is currently
undergoing final contract negotiations to purchase a platform from Germany’s
EDAG Engineering. “This means that the project is ready to enter the execution
stage, including prototype industrialization and construction of a production
plant,” the company says in a press release.
ElectroMobility Poland promises the Izera
EVs will feature modern tech features like a dedicated smartphone app, all-LED
lighting, high-resolution LCD touchscreen, Electronic Stability Control,
Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Detection, Traffic Sign Recognition and
more. Another important partner in the Izera project is Italian styling studio
Torino Design. The brief was to create spacious vehicles as Izera wants to
position itself as a family-friendly brand. Therefore, both the SUV and the
hatchback feature an extended wheelbase. No exact figure is available at the
moment, though.
Now, if you find these cars look familiar,
especially the SUV, you should know that long-term Jaguar designer Tadeusz
Jelec was a project consultant. That probably explains why the Izera SUV looks
like a cross between the Jaguar F-Pace and I-Pace when seen from the side.
The Izera EVs were designed based on a
detailed analysis of expectations of Polish consumers and are the result of car
clinic studies. The two models are not meant to be luxury products but
affordable vehicles for Poles. To that end, ElectroMobility Poland aims to
introduce a “convenient installment payments system so that the total cost of
ownership of the car is more favorable than comparable class combustion-engine
cars.” Izera’s ambitions are not limited to Poland as the brand wants to sell
its EVs in other European countries as well. Obviously, only time will tell if
that will actually happen.
