ElectroMobility Poland unveiled its first electric car, Izera, in late July. What looks like a VW ID.3 rival, the Izera hatchback aims to bring affordable electric mobility to Polish families. The company has given an update on the production plan for the Izera EV. Refer the ‘platform & manufacturing’ section to know more.
Platform & Manufacturing
Since the reveal, Deutsche Welle had reported that ElectroMobility Poland was holding talks with Volkswagen over its MEB platform, as well as with Asian brands Hyundai and Toyota, over the E-GMP and e-TNGA platforms respectively. At the unveil, Piotr Zaremba, President, ElectroMobility Poland, confirmed that the company is at the last stage of negotiating a contract to buy a platform to base the car on.
The first Polish electric car will roll out of a new local plant located in Jaworzno in Silesia. The company had considered almost 30 production sites before deciding to set shop here. Production of the Izera at the Jaworzno plant will start in 2024.
ElectroMobility Poland’s plant will be located in Katowice Special Economic Zone (KSEZ), where a significant number of auto component manufacturers are already present. Well-known auto companies like Opel, FCA, Isuzu and Bremo operate there.
Minister of Climate and Environment, Michał Kurtyka, has assured that this project will create 3,000 direct jobs. 12,000 people will get jobs at suppliers and subcontractors.
Design & Features
The Izera hatchback doesn’t feature a design that is charismatic like the VW ID.3’s. It doesn’t dare with any sort of offbeat look for that matter. It’s all about keeping things simple, cost-effective. Except for those snazzy lights at the front and rear and the flush door handles, the new electric car looks production-ready to our eyes.
The front fascia has a tiny resemblance to the Tata Tiago if you focus on the concave nose and the Mercedes A-Class with those sharp headlamps. The bumper has a clean design and wears full-width gloss black trim with tall outer ends. The level of aggression is moderate at best.
The profile looks sporty thanks to the sleek greenhouse and the sloping roofline. The Izera concept car was probably better off without those gloss black fender flares that leave an odd crossover impression. The wheel design looks basic, but expect to see the company modify areas in which feedback is strong.
The interior design is perhaps more impressive. Set in a light tone and accented with gold trim, the cabin has a fine level of elegance to it. Add the sleek floating centre console, the seamless front AC vent on the passenger side and the virtual instrument cluster and infotainment system displays to the mix and what you have here is quite a polished electric hatchback ready to appeal the young and techie customers. The omission of a conventional floor console frees up a lot of space at the front and adds plenty of storage space on the floor.
Performance
As stated, the Izera electric hatchback will be based on a platform acquired from another company. Tadeusz Jelec, a longtime Jaguar designer, was the project consultant for the Izera electric hatchback’s design.
Lukasz Maliczenko, Director of Product Technical Development, ElectroMobility Poland, has said that the Izera hatchback will have a range of up to 400 km and a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of under 8 seconds.
Electromobility Poland is a special-purpose company formed by energy companies Enea, Energa, PGE and Tauron, in which the Polish government has a majority or considerable stake. The company estimates about 60% of the parts and components to come from local factories but this target could be difficult to achieve in the first phase.
ElectroMobility Poland aims to manufacture 2,00,000 cars a year eventually. Like Tesla, the company plans to sell cars mostly online and will have only a limited physical sales network.
Poland aims to have 1 million EVs by 2025
The success of the e-mobility sector is an important aspect of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s long-term economic growth plan for the country. In 2016, Morawiecki said the target was fixed at 1 million EVs on Polish streets by 2025.
Poland can boast of achieving good success with electric car batteries and is emerging as a powerhouse in this area in the European market. South Korea’s LG Chem, one of the biggest names in this business, has constructed one of EU’s largest battery plants in Wroclaw with an investment of 325 million Euros. It plans to invest 1 billion Euros additionally to boost capacity to 65 GWh/year by 2022.
Izera electric hatchback – Image Gallery
Images from Electromobility Poland website; with inputs from AutoNews.com
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