Smite – a heavy blow for environmental villains
Cold winds may be blowing around the former Swedish car manufacturer SAAB, but in Sweden, completely new ideas and companies are developing regarding the future of passenger vehicles. One of those companies is Vehiconomics, which with its city car Smite is able to offer a 50% reduction in fuel consumption compared to a conventional car, and therefore has great potential to become Sweden’s new world export.
“Lowering the weight of the vehicle is the most efficient way of reducing its energy consumption. A more efficient engine can at most provide a few percent less energy consumption but costs an enormous amount of money to develop. A new chassis, a new body and a new car concept reduces the weight of a vehicle by one tenth compared to a traditional car, but provides more than 50% less consumption,” says Sohrab Kazemahvazi, who is conducting research in light constructions at KTH.
He is one of the people behind the city car Smite and next to the economists and marketing specialists Andreas Broryd and Håkan Lutz he is one of three people in the little company Vehiconomics.
“That is what differentiates us from our competitors. They do not know how to make vehicles lighter without a loss in comfort and crashworthiness. The chassis construction is my major contribution and it is designed not to collapse in the event of a crash. The chassis is combined with energy absorption zones so that the passengers will not be subjected to large accelerations (G forces). Otherwise we use standard components in Smite, in order to keep costs down, says Sohrab Kazemahvazi.
Reduced emissions as a result of reduced energy consumption is not the only environmental advantage that Smite has. With plastic bodywork and an extremely ingenious solution with regard to the handling of the design of the vehicle, the company has succeeded in beating its competition.
“There is also an indirect environmental gain with Smite. A body made of steel costs a lot of money to produce, it has to be pressed and requires expensive special tools. In addition the body has to be treated for rust and painted, which makes the development of the traditional body one of the most environmentally unfriendly manufacturing processes that exists, says Sohrab Kazemahvazi.
He is convinced that Smite will become the next world export for Sweden. The price, which will be around SEK 50,000 (petrol) and SEK 70,000 (electric), will make sure this happens.
“Yes, otherwise we would not have invested in this. Certainly Sweden has Europe’s heaviest motor pool, but the big market is abroad. In southern Europe, people for example have completely different experiences of small vehicles, says Sohrab Kazemahvazi.
Smite should also be regarded as a platform for new vehicles, rather than as a car. A large network of sub suppliers that have the capacity to supply the parts are included in this platform.
“If a new cost-effective engine emerges, for example a hybrid engine, we can simply assemble it in Smite,” says Sohrab Kazemahvazi.
The vehicle has room for two people, and the construction is based on the same principle as Formula 1 cars. Smite can “only” manage a top speed of 90 km/h however. Sohrab Kazemahvazi expects to be able to produce a prototype for the media at this year’s Energiting on 16-17 mars in Älvsjö.
“It will also be possible to test drive Smite,” says Sohrab Kazemahvazi.
For more contact information, contact Sohrab Kazemahvazi at sohrabk@kth.se or ring 0708 - 64 66 65.
Peter Larsson