Italian EV startup takes on US, Chinese rivals with design
A new fully electric vehicle startup in Italy is challenging U.S. and Chinese rivals with “Made in Italy" design
MILAN (AP) — Elon Musk's Tesla paved the way nearly two decades ago. Now, the global transition to fully electric vehicles is littered with startups, inspired by a new era in mobility and drawn by the lower cost of building EVs compared with their fossil-fuel-guzzling forbears.
Gone are the billion-dollar investments that have made legacy auto-making into such a cash cow. Suppliers offer ready-made generic electric platforms and manufacturers can take on contracts for assembly — approaches that translate into savings on jobs and infrastructure.
What has been missing in the new EV formula, according to a Milan-based startup, AEHRA, is a fresh design concept.
“Electric vehicles are looked at as being boring by the general public,” AEHRA CEO Hazim Nada said. "It is very easy to build an extremely powerful electric vehicle. It is not so easy to build an electric vehicle that has character. And I think that’s one of the elements that Italian-ness has to express.”
