Uniti Announces Pricing
Credit to Author: Steve Hanley| Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2019 19:15:09 +0000
Published on October 14th, 2019 | by Steve Hanley
October 14th, 2019 by Steve Hanley
Uniti, the innovative electric car startup from Sweden, has announced pricing details for Uniti One, its 3-passenger city car. “Offered with a choice of two battery sizes, the Uniti One has a range of up to 300 kms (190 miles), which can be charged from 20% to 80% in just seventeen minutes with a 50 kW CCS charger,” the company said this week.
Image courtesy of Uniti
And how much will it cost? With the larger of the two available batteries — 24 kWh — prices in the UK will start at £15,100. That’s after the government incentive of £3,500 is deducted. With the larger battery, the Uniti One is said to have a range of 300 kilometers. Charging time from 20% to 80% capacity using a CCS fast charger is said to take 17 minutes. Deliveries are expected to begin in the middle of 2020 and customers can order one today at the company website, www.uniti.earth.
There is no word on when the Uniti One with the 12 kWh battery may go on sale or what its selling price will be. Forbes speculates that car, with a range of 150 kilometers, may cost as little as £10,000 after the UK subsidy is applied. With a 50 kW electric motor and 62 Newton-meters of torque, the Uniti One can reach 100 km/h in under 10 seconds and a top speed of 120 km/h.
The Uniti One with the smaller battery has about the same range as a first generation Nissan LEAF, which is a hint about how light and efficient the car is. The company claims it uses just 8 kWh of electricity to travel 100 kilometers. People looking for a battery electric car that can handle most daily driving chores at a bargain price may find the Uniti One is just what they are looking for.
The Uniti One is no stripped down eco-model. It comes standard with an electrochromatic panoramic roof that darkens automatically to keep the car cool when parked in direct sunlight. There is also a virtual sun visor feature that darkens the top of the windshield when the sun is directly in the drivers eyes.
The Uniti One uses an Android operating system that controls the infotainment system and most of the standard features of the car. Voice commands can also be used and the car is built to accept over the air updates as technological improvements become available. A high strength safety cage surround the driver and passengers keeps interior deformation to a minimum in the event of a collision.
Standard safety equipment includes driver’s airbag, anti-lock braking, electronic stability control, and a tire pressure monitoring system. In addition, buyers can opt for Intel’s MobilEye 6 collision avoidance system which adds forward collision and lane departure warning as well as a speed limit indicator. It also warns the driver of any potential collisions with pedestrians or bicycle riders in real time.
Uniti is emulating Tesla in its sales model, which is done entirely online. A network of repair facilities throughout Europe will be available to owners. Deliveries in the UK and Sweden will begin in mid 2020 with customers in other European countries getting their cars somewhat later.
Uniti began as a design study at the University of Lund in 2015. In the same week when Dyson — a well funded company with deep technological resources — announced it is suspending its electric car program, Uniti is about to go live with its own EV experiment.
This is the headline in today’s edition of the Detroit News: “Dyson becomes latest sign that electric-car bubble is bursting.” Uniti is proof that headline is a lie told by fossil fuel advocates petrified by the looming EV revolution.
Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. His motto is, “Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away!” You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.