For the second time in TWIKE’s history, the development of a new generation of vehicles – TWIKE 5 – was undertaken by the community. On July 31, 2019, the minimum funding target of two million euros was reached. The aim is now to start series production within the next six months. At the latest therefore in February 2020.
In the subsequent phase, production capacity is to be ramped up to at least one vehicle per working day. As more than 720 reservations have already been received for the TWIKE 5, which is planned to be produced in a limited edition of 500 vehicles. For this reason, TWIKE is also considering increasing production capacity and starting development of the TWIKE 6 in the near future.
“We have achieved our financing goal, but there is still a lot of work to be done before series production can begin. We are less concerned about the vehicle’s technical capabilities. The greater challenge is to integrate all the necessary processes smoothly and reliably. That is where our focus lies right now.” – Martin Moescheid, Managing Director of TWIKE
Once the financing round is complete, the TWIKE 6 reservation list will be opened. All reservation numbers above 500 will automatically become candidates for the TWIKE 6. The company has indicated that the reservation counter will remain online. This means that reservation loans will continue to be accepted in order to ensure sufficient liquidity in the first year of production. The TWIKE 5 will not only benefit in terms of development details but, but possibly also through an earlier delivery.
The TWIKE 5 will have an estimated range of 405 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle prescribed for normal passenger cars. This high range is possible because the TWIKE 5, with its low vehicle weight of less than 500 kg, a low drag coefficient of around 0.24, and a small frontal area of 1.7 m^2, will only consume around 7.3 kWh/100 km.
Source: Electric Car News
