Gaël Lavaud, creator of Gazelle Tech, poses next to one of his ultralight electric vehicles in Blanquefort, Gironde, July 12, 2022 (AFP / Thibaud MORITZ)
Near Bordeaux, a new small manufacturer Gazelle Tech wants to revolutionize the automotive market in the massive electrification phase, by developing an ultralight vehicle with low environmental impact that it hopes to market from 2024.
Based on the observation that “75% of a vehicle’s consumption is linked to its weight”, the start-up from Blanquefort, in the Bordeaux metropolitan area, has developed a patented technology in composite materials, based on fiberglass, in order to drastically lighten the weight of the car.
On the scale, this prototype with the soft lines of a small urban SUV and the interior without frills, weighs 900 kilos against 1.5 tonnes for its competitors.
“This technology makes it possible to maintain the comfort and safety of a modern vehicle while regaining the lightness that we have lost over the years with the increasing complexity of vehicles”, describes its designer Gaël Lavaud who is inspired by the “world of quadricycles” (cars without a licence).
For this engineer, doctor in mechanics, who worked at Renault on lightening chassis and engines, then developed electric utility vehicles at Goupil, “making light has been around for a long time. What is difficult is to make light and robust”.
With its gazelle horn logo, the “lightest car on the market” could see its chassis further lightened, “with an optimization of peripheral elements” and partially recyclable, thanks to the use of natural fibers in hemp and linen. .
“Gazelle”, ultralight electric vehicles, in Blanquefort, Gironde, July 12, 2022 (AFP / Thibaud MORITZ)
The vehicle operates with 20kWh batteries for a range of “180 kilometers”, underlines the TPE. They are rechargeable in four hours for about “2 euros on any household outlet”.
The Ecological Transition Agency also writes, in its latest opinion published on Wednesday, that a car must have a battery “of reasonable capacity, less than 60 kWh” to have a “carbon impact two to three times lower than that of a similar thermal model”.
“With a larger battery, the environmental benefit is not guaranteed,” adds Ademe, which defends “the smallest and lightest vehicle model possible”.
– “2CV of the 21st century” –
Nicolas Meunier, mobility project manager at the consulting firm Carbone 4, also pleads for “less energy-consuming cars” and therefore lighter.
“Replicating the thermal SUV model in the electric field is the perfect example of the + false good idea +: an SUV has a carbon footprint twice as large as a city car over its lifespan”, he explains. .
“A liter of gasoline is 10 kilos of batteries, according to Mr. Lavaud. If we do the math: for the equivalent of 50 liters of gasoline, we need 500 kilos of batteries. Huge electric SUVs have nothing to do with ecology.
Gazelle Tech’s objective is to compete with the Dacia Spring, the cheapest consumer model on the European market. With a similar purchase price of 20,000 euros, excluding state aid, the manufacturer is targeting the market for corporate fleets and local authorities.
At the antipodes of the gigantic factories of car manufacturers, this vehicle will be assembled in “micro-factories” made up of converted containers.
Because “with its 2CV philosophy of the 21st century”, its chassis is assembled “like a Lego”.
“Unlike a conventional car chassis which has up to 300 parts, we only have 10 that can be assembled anywhere and without tools in one hour”, assures the entrepreneur who received in 2018 the prize for global innovation at Mondial.Tech, on the sidelines of the Mondial de l’Auto which began on Monday.
“Each operator will be able to assemble a vehicle from A to Z. This will make it possible to maintain employment where it risks disappearing with the switch to electric and to restore meaning to work”, assures the inventor.
The company has also entered into a partnership with the AFPA (qualifying professional training center for adults) which will offer a diploma course to mount and maintain Gazelles in “any car dealership”.
The company, which has already raised two million euros, has launched a third fundraiser on a larger scale to launch its deployment in 2024.
© 2022 AFP
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