Perodua Axia Electrical – second EV Improvements MyKar prototype detailed, 220 km vary, 128 km/h high velocity

Two years after it unveiled its MyKar city electric vehicle concept, Malaysian start-up EV Improvements has give you a brand new prototype, and this one is predicated on a Perodua Axia.

The corporate, a subsidiary of native data and communication expertise (ICT) supplier System Consultancy Providers (SCS), mentioned work on the Axia Electric started earlier this yr, with the venture taking a couple of month to finish. The donor automobile is a base Axia, which has been stripped of its unique combustion engine and drivetrain.

It its place contained in the engine bay are the mechanical parts and electronics for the drive system, which sit on high of the 23 kWh capability battery pack that gives the required juice. The battery affords about 220 km of journey on a full cost, and a six kW onboard charger means the unit could be juiced up in about 4 hours. The Sort 2 AC charging port is neatly tucked behind the Axia’s gas filler cap.

Not like the sooner MyKar, which had its 10 kWh battery pack situated underneath the rear seat bench, the location right here was chosen due to the accessible house current and likewise as a result of there was no must tinker with the rear seats in any manner.

Utilizing a longtime platform, and solely ditching the powertrain and drivetrain

As EV Improvements lead Ahmad Zaki Yaacob put it, the intent was to maintain the venture easy and retain a lot of the Axia’s features and options as attainable, showcasing what could be achieved by way of a direct conversion. The seating stays inventory, as are objects just like the aspect view mirrors, which within the earlier MyKar was made up of digital camera system and twin LCD display screen viewers contained in the automobile.

Whereas the unique MyKar needed to utilise a solid-state air-conditioning system and a separate battery to energy that, the Axia retains the usage of its unique AC system, with a 12 volt controller dealing with the required distribution for the AC in addition to lighting parts and equipment, all operating off the battery pack.

The inclusion of the electrical drive system has added some weight to the automobile. The bottom Axia suggestions the scales at 820 kg, and electrification has added round almost 70 kg to the mass. This places it virtually on par weight-wise to the earlier MyKar, which featured a DK Composites fibreglass composite bodyshell – formed alongside the traces of a Honda Jazz – siting on a ladder body/tubular chassis fabricated by EV Improvements. That weighed 900 kg.

Similar hub motors as earlier than, however new controller and software program

Prefer it was earlier than, the Axia Electrical has a rear-wheel drive configuration, and the 2 12 kW hub motors are the identical as that seen on the sooner MyKar, though a special controller is now used, the corporate saying that it’s simpler to implement.

The Axia rides on the identical 5 double-spoke 14-inch alloys as seen beforehand, the selection of measurement to accomodate the required clearance for the hub motor. The configuration additionally signifies that the rear wheels visibly jut out from the aspect of the automobile, one thing that can’t be prevented regardless of a brand new axle.

Output stays because it was, at 24 kW (32 hp, however can double as much as 48 kW or 64 hp at peak), whereas torque is now listed as 100 kg/m (980 Nm), though ratios imply that the pull numbers delivered can be decrease than that. As for efficiency, the Axia Electrical has a high velocity of 128 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of round 11 seconds, a considerable achieve from the earlier MyKar, which had a 104 km/h high velocity and a 0-100 km/h time of 16.7 seconds.

Inside, the prototype is fitted with a big Android head unit mounted within the centre console. This affords not simply telemetry show of the assorted parameters of the EV powertrain but additionally handles infotainment points. Elsewhere, a Jaguar-type small rotary dial within the centre is used to pick the drive modes (R, N, D).

What a distinction a longtime chassis makes

As with the MyKar 2.0, we had a short drive of the Axia Electrical, and the distinction in housing what is basically the identical powertrain in a industrial, fully-formed monocoque chassis was readily obvious just some hundred metres down the street.

For one, the whole lot now felt extra cohesive and car-like, not shocking given the equipment automobile underpinnings of the earlier MyKar. Prefer it was earlier than, the powertrain feels pretty responsive. There’s a noticeable hum from the motors as you push off (and within the remaining stage of stopping), however as soon as shifting, the system strikes the automobile easily up the velocity vary.

The drive wasn’t a protracted one, nevertheless it was nonetheless very straightforward to really feel the sophistication injected by the inclusion of a correct chassis into the combo. Ambling alongside at 60-70 km/h, the automobile behaved and felt like a traditional Axia, the inventory suspension exhibiting good compliance on the entire, with solely bigger ruts catching out the rear by way of stiffness.

We requested Zaki why the Axia was chosen as a substitute of say, a Myvi, for the venture, and his reply was that the automobile was picked as a result of it was low-cost, and the intent was to see how the system would form up in a base stage providing. When it comes to improvement price, the whole system (battery, electronics, motor, mechanical fabrication, battery tub and motor mounting) amounted to RM50,000, excluding the worth of the Axia.

As earlier than, EV Improvements is utilising the Axia Electrical as a test bed to showcase the possibilities of the tech, the corporate saying that the modular system could be tailored to many vehicles, with the potential for EV conversions from ICE, ought to the regulation change for that sooner or later. He added that with sufficient scale, the worth of such a system may drop to RM20,000.