StreetScooter

2010–2014: Founding, acquisition by Deutsche Post

In June 2010, Achim Kampker, together with Günther Schuh, founded Street Scooter GmbH; (in August 2014, it was renamed StreetScooter GmbH). This was a privately organized research initiative at the RWTH Aachen University which later became an independent company in Aachen.[3] Kampker was also the founder and chairman of the European Network for Affordable and Sustainable Electromobility.

One of the experimental designs by the company was the StreetScooter C16, a very small two-seater city car with all its exterior plastic parts 3D-printed, shown at EuroMold in November 2014.

In May 2014, the company announced that the city of Aachen, the Aachen city council and the Aachen savings bank had ordered electric vehicles from the company.

In December 2014, approximately 70 employees were manufacturing 200 vehicles annually in the premises of the Waggonfabrik Talbot, the former Talbot/Bombardier plant in Aachen. At that time, Deutsche Post DHL Group purchased the StreetScooter company, which became its wholly owned subsidiary.[4]

Work

This vehicle is equipped with lithium-ion battery packs and is powered by a permanent-magnet synchronous electric motor, giving 68 kW of peak power (58 kW of continuous power) and 205 Nm of torque. Battery capacity is 40 kWh; a smaller 20 kWh battery pack option was also offered earlier. The van's maximum speed is 120 km/h.[18]

Range (before the need to recharge) with the larger battery pack was estimated at 159 km WLTP,[18] but actual range depends on the weight of the load, vehicle speed and traffic conditions. Conversely, the version equipped with battery half that capacity (20 kWh) was said to have 50 to 80 km of range.

The floor of the cargo hold is 100% flat; there are no wheel wells protruding into it, as it is located entirely above them. The volume of the cargo hold is 4 m3 while the load capacity is 1,234-1,266 kg[18] (it was much lower in previous versions[19]