New Electric Car Comes With 5 Years Of Free Power
Uniti, an electric vehicle that remains sustainable throughout its entire lifecycle, provides a smartphone-like approach to driving. As a bonus, a partnership between Uniti and U.K. electric service E.ON offers Swedish customers free power for five years.
Updated May 24 2019, 11:34 a.m. ET
Swedish startup Uniti is developing a tech-heavy electric car that's sustainable and safe. The compact vehicle operates like a smartphone and is geared toward improving urban mobility. Purchasers in Sweden could also get five years of free, solar-sourced power for the vehicles thanks to a partnership with electric company E.ON.
The plan pushes Uniti one step closer to having a fully sustainable vehicle. The cars are made from recyclable carbon fiber bodies and feature organic composite interiors.
Uniti’s electric vehicle will have a “touch-and-swipe” approach to give more power to the driver. The cars be sold as “smartphone cars” and will include unique heads-up displays, providing more safety for drivers and easy-to-access navigation features that aren’t limited to the dashboard. Electric steering provides even more control for drivers.
"Today, there are many new possibilities,” Tobias Ekman, Uniti’s innovation manager, said in a press release. “The car and the driving experience has been digitalized in order to increase safety, comfort, and driving pleasure while minimizing environmental impact.” E.ON reps said the decision for the partnership with Uniti arose because the energy company and car startup are focused on two very distinct concepts: forward thinking and renewable power.
While the vehicle is compact, it still has options for two, four, or five seats and features a range of approximately 185 miles on a single charge with a 22 kilowatt-hour battery. It's optimized for urban and highway driving; and has an auxiliary battery that can be removed for indoor charging, or charged while still inside the vehicle.
Close to 1,000 preorders were received by Uniti ahead of this week's launch event. The Uniti EV will have a price tag that sits at just over $17,560. The car can be purchased online for delivery or in electronics stores, with orders expected to be fulfilled beginning in 2019.
