A little known Canadian startup, Havelaar in Toronto has unveiled an all-electric pickup truck concept at the EMC show in Markham, Ontario. This Bison E-Pickup will be produced in Ontario. With the large center touchscreen, the interior of the vehicle is clearly inspired by Tesla, the company that is shaking the motor industry to its roots.
Electric pickup trucks came into the news recently after Tesla announced that they plan to reveal one within "18 to 24 months" and Workhorse unveiled its plug-in hybrid W-15 pickup truck. Doubtless it will have much in common with the planned Tesla bus. In a press release, Havelaar said that the Bison E-Pickup features an all-wheel-drive system with "advanced electronic management of the vehicle dynamics. Underpinning the Bison is an advanced dual-motor, fully-electric powertrain driving the four corners. Our E-Pickup™ concept utilizes an advanced telemetry and innovative packaging. The Bison is a sophisticated next-gen pickup truck with instant connectivity, touch screen display and driver assistive technology calibrated to meet both the day-to-day work demands and active lifestyle needs of adventurers."
In its popular report, Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles 2017-2027 IDTechEx tracks how in-wheel motors are always achieving volume "next year". One day they will be right but near- wheel motors and proliferation of number of motors in an electric vehicle are now commonplace. This is for many reasons such as space saving, redundancy, vectored steering and traction and paradoxically cost reduction. For instance, the IDTechEx report, Electric Buses 2017-2027 describes the best-selling 12 meter pure electric bus, the BYD K9 and its two near-wheel motors.
In the planned pickup, the battery pack would enable a range of "at least 300 km (~186 miles)" on a single charge, according to the company. It will be "built for tough Canadian weather conditions and challenging terrain. The Bison speaks a bold design language, punctuated with angular cladding and wedge profiles. An evolutionary leap forward from traditional pickups, the Bison delivers a more modern and provocative approach. With short overhangs and tires pushed to the corners, the stance conveys stability and confidence allowing for aggressive approach and departure angles."
Raghu Das, Chief Executive of analysts IDTechEx says, "Given the now frenetic pace of innovation in the motor industry, Havelaar doubtless realises it cannot stop there. It must progress towards energy independence and even being energy positive like the Stella Lux car in the Netherlands with its in-wheel motors, new earning streams and extra functionality. Examples are energy independent active suspension, wind turbines that erect when parked, extending GaAs solar, solar windows and lighting covers, wide band gap semiconductors leading to power electronics without liquid cooling, vehicle to house, vehicle to grid, dynamic charging ...The list goes on and on and we are very busy with reports and consultancy on all of this."
Top image: Havelaar
