By Nick Carey
(Reuters) – Israeli electric vehicle (EV) startup City Transformer aims to launch production of its small urban CT-2 model in Western Europe by the end of 2024 and will soon launch a Series B financing round to raise $ 50 million, the company said. Monday.
Chief Executive Asaf Formoza told Reuters the company, which has so far raised $20 million, has selected a factory in western Europe where it will have an initial annual output of 15,000 vehicles, but cannot yet reveal its location.
The additional funds the startup is raising should help speed up series production, Formoza added.
The CT-2, which is already approved for use in the European Union and Great Britain, has a range of 180 kilometers (112 miles) and is 1 meter (3.28 feet) wide in “city mode.” This makes it narrow enough to fit four of them in a conventional car parking space, Formoza said.
But the EV’s wheelbase expands to 1.4 meters for “performance mode,” which doubles its top speed to 90 kilometers (56 miles) per hour.
The EV can accommodate two people sitting in tandem, or could be used for last-mile deliveries or other business, the company said.
The CT-2 weighs 450 kilograms (0.5 tons), or less than the battery in a Tesla Model 3.
“Is there any reason why a person like you or I would need to maneuver in the city in a two-ton, 600-kilogram battery car?” Formoza said.
The CT-2 will cost 16,000 euros ($17,400) before taxes, and Formoza said major automakers have created space for startups like City Transformer by moving away from smaller cars.
“The B segment (small cars) is fading because automakers are making more SUVs, so there will be a big void that we and others will be looking to fill,” he said.
City Transformer is lobbying the EU for subsidies for smaller electric vehicles like the CT-2 that are currently available for larger models, Formoza added.
($1 = 0.9203 euros)
(Reporting by Nick Carey in London; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
