The e-mobilizer

Günther Schuh is an electromobility pioneer. Ask him when one hundred percent battery driven cars will finally establish themselves and he will give a surprising answer. “Not in the near future and not in the next ten or fifteen years. And perhaps not even beyond that.” The professor for production engineering at RWTH Aachen University sees electric drive in the medium term only as a supplement to the traditional combustion engines — as the costs for batteries capable of long ranges are too high.

The thing that makes the e.GO Life, which has been on the market since 2018, so special is the basic price of 15,900 euro plus its precisely defined areas of application. “It’s an aluminum profile spaceframe that can be produced with only a few tools,” explains Schuh. It is how manufacturing costs are kept down to a relatively low 900 euro per frame. Together with the external parts made of thermal plastic, an inexpensive car is produced despite the low volume production. Schuh has also incorporated many already existing components which has kept the development costs down to a reasonable level.

“It’s a fun car, very practical and affordable,” says Schuh when talking about his subcompact car. That he can successfully build electro-mobiles is something the professor has already proved: The StreetScooter he designed, the electrical postal service car, is enjoying increasing demand. But can he put the fear up the traditional car makers? The developer laughs, “Nobody should be scared of us. But when the larger companies turn around later and say that they got some impulses through our work at e.GO Mobile, then that would be rather nice.”

One of the impulses could be an additional feature for automated driving. An e.GO Life can be fitted with self-parking technology as an optional extra. In multi-story car parks with appropriate sensors, the vehicle can set off driverless in search of a parking space. It will be possible in, amongst other places, Aachen, where Bosch and e.GO have equipped the multi-story car park in the grounds of the RWTH Aachen University with the so-called Automated Valet Parking technology.

Automated driving in urban areas is seen by Schuh as a big challenge but he is certain, “It will drastically change our mobility behavior.” In his opinion, automated bus services have the potential to, for example, enable public transport companies to cover their costs. For Schuh, fuel cells and plug-in hybrids are potential drive concepts for long trips outside the city.

And what do owners of an e.GO Life have to do if they want to travel non-stop for more than one hundred kilometers as emission-free as possible? Schuh has a good piece of advice for them: “It’s best to take the train.”