The XBus, a little modular wonder from Germany’s Electric Brands that has four in-wheel motors and multiple battery packs ranging in size from 10 kWh to 30 kWh, completely blew my colleague Jo Borrs away a year ago. Don’t start laughing now about the little standard battery. With its 24 kWh battery, the base XBus can travel 200 km further than the Series I Nissan LEAF.
The XBus is available with a variety of modular body designs, including flat beds, pickup trucks, tilt beds, cargo vans, and 4-door pickup trucks. You can combine and match the different parts if your neighbor has one so that you both have the car you require when you require it. Because the batteries are removable, you may replace them with fully charged ones when necessary rather than having to wait for charging to finish while you are operating your XBus. The only company pursuing this strategy of creating vehicles with a common platform that can be modified in various ways is Canoo.
Please visit the Electric Brands website for details on range, price, and configuration. The entry-level model costs 17,526, including VAT. Unfortunately, there are currently no plans to bring the XBus to the US, which is regrettable. Since the Suzuki Samurai, nothing this adorable and cuddly has been seen in America.
The XBus is tiny enough to be classified as a L7e class quadricycle in Europe at less than 4 meters long, 1.7 meters wide, and 1.9 meters high. It is only 500 kg in its simplest configuration, yet it can support 1,600 kg when fully loaded. With a total torque of 1000 Nm from its four in-wheel motors, it can reach a top speed of 100 km/h. It also has regenerative brakes and a solar roof. Mighty Mouse would be the animated equivalent if one existed.
DON’T MISS THE XBUS CAMPER The business has just launched the latest XBus, a camper van that is identical to the Volkswagen ID in every way. Buzz might be, but he isn’t. It is odd, inoffensively adorable, and underpowered, exactly like the first VW bus. This movie provides additional information about the camper as well as some of the other cars in the Electric Brands lineup.
Aside from a sleeping area for two people, the Camper has a small kitchen with a sink, refrigerator, and hotplate, a refrigerator, TV, fresh water tank, sound system, solar roof, and regenerative brakes. It also has a fresh water tank. It has a 600 km range with the additional 30 kWh battery pack (more than a Tesla Model Y LR). 29,727.73 is the cost of all this goodness.
Naturally, Americans will consider such a vehicle to be dishonorable. It is beneath them to even consider anything that doesn’t weigh 8,000 pounds and have 600 horsepower. Shame, really. If I were looking for an electric camper van, I’d consider the XBus Camper. I spent the majority of my camping trips in a 2-person pup tent with an ice chest and Coleman stove.
Inquiries from the west side of the Atlantic might persuade the company, which is currently firmly entrenched in its creative phase, to take a closer look at the US market. Someone with initiative could launch a company importing these items. Max Hoffman, who started importing BMW cars in the 1950s, and Ernie Boch, who gambled on Subaru and won the lottery, both had success with it. Perhaps it will occur to you!
Only one thing is certain. Since emotion is what sells cars, the XBus has panache and a certain something that makes it utterly charming. Anywhere it is sold, I see this becoming a tremendous hit.
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