CES brings many an idea, concept and even dreams to our attention. Some seem absurd others plausible. Occasionally along comes a vision that seems a bit of a pipe dream but upon further inspection you realise the inventors may be onto something. In this instance it’s the Eli Zero Electric Vehicle.
Eli founder Marcus Li is a curious kind of guy, a few years back it struck him just how much elevators had influenced the New York landscape. Of course helping people move in such a rapid way led to the proliferation of skyscrapers. The idea of transporting people evolved into Marcus taking a closer look at the car and how it has impacted the city landscape, it encouraged urban sprawl and the ability to live further afield. Of course this meant more and more cars and we all know what that causes.
So the idea about the car perhaps not being the perfect personal transport option was born. The Eli Zero is designed to be lightweight, small and efficient. A seamless way to travel from A to B. The company vision is that the traditional car will eventually be reserved for faster, autonomous even ridesharing style use over longer distances. As they say they can’t wait for people to have that “Ah-hah!” moment.
The Eli Zero looks like it belongs on another planet, its body is made of high strength aluminium and power comes via a lithium battery that can be charged with a standard plug. It weighs 350kg, has a payload of 200kg, top speed of 40km/h and a range of around 65kms according to the press release. However a shot of the dash shows a charge with some 230 odd kilometres left, so who knows at this stage. The essential mod cons are there such as radio, Bluetooth and air-conditioning.
As with most start-up companies the remaining details are a little sketchy, but on the surface it seems like a viable option to get around as our cities evolve. Or in Sydney’s case don’t evolve, after all it was named just today the congestion capital of Australasia. New York is quicker to get around, perhaps we do need to have that “Ah-hah!” moment.
