A year ago my colleague Jo Borrás was overjoyed about the XBus, a miniscule modular marvel from the German Electric Brands with 4 in-wheel motors and different battery packs from 10 kWh to 30 kWh. Now don’t chuckle about the small standard battery. The base XBus is so efficient that it can travel 200 km – more than the Series I Nissan LEAF with its 24 kWh battery.
The XBus features a variety of modular body configurations – flatbed, pickup truck, tilt bed truck, van or 4-door pickup. If your neighbor has one, you can mix and match the different components so you both have the vehicle you need when you need it. The batteries are removable, so you can swap in fully charged batteries when you need to, rather than waiting for charging to happen while you’re out driving your XBus. Nothing but canoe follows this path to build vehicles with a standard platform that can be configured in multiple ways.
For complete information on configuration, pricing and range, see the: Electric Brands website. The base model starts at £17,526, including VAT. Unfortunately, there are currently no plans to bring the XBus to the US, which is a shame. Americans have never seen anything so cute and cuddly since the Suzuki Samurai.
At less than 4 meters long, 1.7 meters wide and 1.9 meters high, the XBus is small enough to qualify as an L7e-class four-wheeler in Europe. In basic form, it weighs only 500 kg, but can carry 1,600 kg fully loaded. Its top speed is 100 km/h with a total torque of its 4 in-wheel motors of 1000 Nm. It also features a sunroof and regenerative braking. If it had a cartoon character equivalent, it would be Mighty Mouse.
Meet the XBus motorhome
Now the company has unveiled its latest XBus, a motorhome that is everything the Volkswagen ID is. Buzz could have been, but isn’t. It’s quirky, cute in an unobtrusive way, and underpowered, just like the original VW bus. Here’s a video showing more about the RV and some of the other vehicles in the Electric Brands stable of vehicles.
The Camper has a sleeping area for two people, a space-saving kitchen with sink, fridge and hob, fridge, TV, fresh water tank, sound system, a sunroof and regenerative braking. With the optional 30 kWh battery pack, it has a range of 600 km (more than a Tesla Model Y LR). The price for all these goodies is £29,727.73.
Americans, of course, will look through their noses at such an unworthy vehicle. If it doesn’t weigh 8,000 pounds and have 600 horsepower, it’s among them to even consider. Too bad actually. The XBus Camper would float my boat if I was looking for an electric motorhome. Most of my camping was done in a 2 person pup tent with a Coleman stove and ice chest.
The company is very much in the creative phase right now, so if enough inquiries come in from the west side of the Atlantic, they might be persuaded to take a look at the US market. A daring entrepreneur could start a business that imports these things. It worked out pretty well for Max Hoffman who started importing BMWs in the 1950s and Ernie Boch who took a gamble on Subaru and ended up taking the brass ring. Maybe it could happen to you!
One thing is certain. Emotion is what sells cars and the XBus has oomph, sure I do not know what that’s positively endearing. I can see this going to be a huge hit wherever it is sold.
Image Credit: Electric Brands
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