Prodrive and Astheimer Unveil Last-Mile EV

Prodrive and Astheimer Design, two powerhouses of British innovation, have joined forces to revolutionise urban logistics with the launch of their latest concept vehicle.

Unveiled at the Cenex Expo 2024, the EVOLV demonstrator is a compact, electric quadricycle designed to take on the growing demands of last-mile delivery.

This project is the culmination of their partnership and it marks the beginning of an exciting new venture: ELM Mobility, a joint venture aimed at reshaping last-mile transport with zero-emission vehicles.

Prodrive Advanced Technology, a division of Prodrive, has earned a reputation as a nimble and innovative engineering partner. They bring together some of the brightest minds across multiple disciplines to push boundaries and challenge conventional thinking.

This enables them to deliver transformative solutions across the mobility sector and beyond, managing everything from design and development to logistics, supply chain and production.

Their goal is simple: to make the impossible possible for their clients, all while mitigating risk and accelerating product development.

“EVOLV demonstrates how our collective innovative design and engineering can push the boundaries of what a last mile EV can achieve,” says Dr Iain Roche, CEO of Prodrive Advanced Technology.

“With EVOLV, a compact footprint can go hand-in-hand with serious capability and efficiency. EVOLV offers the best of both worlds, injecting versatility without compromise into a logistics fleet.”

Astheimer Design, founded by Carsten Astheimer in 2009, is a world-class design studio focused on creating the products of tomorrow.

With a team that has honed its skills across the globe, including at renowned companies like Pininfarina in Italy and Brunswick Boat Group in the US, it specialises in developing sustainable mobility solutions.

“Everything about the design of EVOLV is fit-for-purpose,” explains Carsten Astheimer, Founder and Creative Director of Astheimer Design.

“It’s lightweight, robust and simple, which fits harmoniously with the Astheimer Design philosophy of removing everything superfluous. The result is iconic in its simplicity, with the platform adaptable to the individual needs of each customer.”

Enter ELM Mobility

The collaboration between Prodrive and Astheimer has given birth to ELM Mobility, a new company dedicated to producing purpose-built, zero-emission vehicles specifically designed for last-mile logistics.

ELM Mobility’s first vehicle, the EVOLV, was revealed at the Cenex Expo, marking a significant milestone in this journey. With a production target set for 2028, the company aims to bring a game-changing electric vehicle (EV) to market, priced at around £25,000.

The EVOLV isn’t just another electric vehicle; it’s designed to solve real-world problems.

Engineered by Prodrive and designed by Astheimer, it’s a small but mighty L7e category quadricycle that can be driven on a standard car licence. At just 3,240mm long, 1,450mm wide and weighing 850kg (with batteries), this compact vehicle is surprisingly spacious, boasting a 4m³ load capacity — similar to that of a mid-sized van.

The vehicle’s modular design offers flexible load areas, perfect for urban deliveries. Its dual-pallet capacity, complete with sliding side doors and rear barn doors, makes it a highly versatile tool for logistics companies.

“We have a clear vision for ELM Mobility to be a leader in zero emission last mile transport,” adds Roche. 

“Together with Astheimer, we have assembled a talented team comprising logistics specialists, designers and engineers to identify, solve and deliver solutions that will make a difference to this segment. We have already made significant progress, drawing on the brilliant minds across the two businesses to get a working demonstrator running in under 12 months.”

“ELM Mobility was created with the intention to deliver game-changing efficiency for our customers with small, lightweight electric vehicles,” says Astheimer, also co-CEO of ELM Mobility.

“Astheimer and Prodrive has a rich history in developing commercial vehicles together and the idea of developing a purpose-built last mile delivery vehicle came to us as a result of these projects and insights.

"Funding from the Niche Vehicle Network, the APC and a private investor has supported us along the way to this point of proving out the concept by developing an initial prototype to physically demonstrate the vehicle attributes and to get market feedback. ELM Mobility has been created to take the concept to market and to become an iconic UK brand.”

Designed for efficiency and safety

One of the key issues facing current last-mile delivery vehicles is that they’re often too large, inefficient, or unsafe for their purpose. This is where EVOLV excels. Its architecture maximises load space while minimising the footprint, making it incredibly efficient. Weighing just half of what a compact van does, it achieves class-leading energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness per unit of goods transported per mile.

EVOLV isn’t just practical — it’s safe, too. Prodrive has taken the bold step of engineering this L7e category vehicle to meet N1 small van crash safety standards, which includes front, side and roof crash performance, pedestrian protection and driver safety requirements. This makes EVOLV stand out in a market where safety is often compromised for cost or efficiency.

Astheimer’s design philosophy is rooted in simplicity and function. EVOLV’s design strips away anything unnecessary, leaving a vehicle that is lightweight, robust and iconic in its simplicity. The clean, minimalist exterior complements its high-tech interior, which is centred around driver ergonomics. A central driver seat allows for excellent visibility and easy access, while the wraparound windscreen enhances the view of cyclists and pedestrians, a crucial feature for urban driving.

The chassis itself is designed for adaptability, with potential for multiple models based on the same platform. This flexibility ensures that the EVOLV can cater to the specific needs of each client, making it a future-proof solution in an ever-evolving industry.

With high uptime a priority, EVOLV’s design includes features aimed at minimising downtime. A tight turning circle of just 7.8 metres — comparable to a London taxi — makes navigating narrow, congested streets a breeze. The modular body panels are easily replaceable and the headlights are designed to minimise damage in case of accidents. Additionally, the 20kWh battery offers a 100-mile range, sufficient for most urban delivery routes and can be charged up to 80% in less than two hours.

The road ahead

ELM Mobility has ambitious plans. Following the successful demonstration of EVOLV, the company will move into the production-readiness phase, with pre-series vehicles expected to hit the streets for trials before full-scale production begins in 2028.

As cities across the world tighten their environmental policies, ELM Mobility is poised to lead the charge with a new generation of vehicles that deliver both sustainability and practicality.

In a world that increasingly values efficiency and green solutions, the partnership between Prodrive and Astheimer is paving the way for the future of urban transport. With EVOLV, they’re showing that big things can indeed come in small packages.

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