Milan-based Aehra is planning to take on the premium electric car market.
The likes of Tesla and Porsche are about to gain a new competitor in the form of Aehra – an electric car maker headquarted in Milan aiming to blend ‘Italian design, world-class engineering and US customer service’.
Three Aehra cars are planned so far. An electric SUV is penned for an October reveal this year and a sedan will be unveiled in February next year. Aehra says customer deliveries of both models will begin in 2025. The third model, a 2+2 sports car is yet to have a reveal date announced.
The Aehra SUV will rival the Audi e-tron, Tesla Model X and BMW iX at the premium end of the pure-electric SUV market. The firm claims it will feature “leading-edge battery platform technology, targeting a range of at least 800km and awe-inspiring performance”. It should also be able to accommodate “four full-size NBA players, while leaving room for a six-foot adult in the middle of the rear seat row”.
There will be one platform underpinning both the SUV and saloon and we can expect a battery capacity of 120kWh in both. This means the saloon should offer a similar if not greater range than the SUV model. The two will utilise a lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque chassis to help reduce vehicle weight and enhance range. Aehra says both will offer “exceptional agility and driving pleasure”. Charging should be up with the fastest in the EV world with plans for market-leading 850V architecture.
In an exclusive interview with Automotive Daily, company co-founder, Chairman and CEO Hazim Nada said that Aehra will launch in both left and right-hand drive, initially in the UK first. “The UK will be an important market for us. We’re going to start with the North American market, Europe and UK. The second stage will be dedicated to the gulf countries and China,” he said.
Aehra isn’t looking too closely at potential rivals however. “We have a price bracket in mind, so we’re targeting high premium so $160,000 to $180,000 (circa AUD$250,000), so at that price you obviously have the Porsche Taycan, Lucid Air, Mercedes EQS but we’re not similar to those products, we’re quite transversal in terms of which markets we want to reach. We don’t have a specific benchmark.”
Nada thinks Aehra will have a head-start on the competition – especially on traditional internal combustion engine car makers. “AEHRA’s vehicle architecture takes the step by addressing the direct shortcomings of designing electric vehicles that maintain the shapes of internal combustion engine traditions.”
We can expect the latest safety systems to be fitted to Aehra’s cars and although the firm is looking into autonomy, Nada says full autonomy is not a priority. In terms of production he said, “we’ll target 20,000 to 25,000 (globally) per year, per model, which is quite ambitious in that segment, but we’ll have plenty of demand in the first two phases of market expansion”.
Aehra also has an eye on the environment in the way its cars will be built. Nada stated, “The production method of our cars will allow for components to be recycled, the materials we’ll use will be more environmentally friendly and in terms of structure and body, it will be 100 per cent (recyclable)”.
What the cars will look like will remain unclear until the autumn, but Aehra’s Chief Design Officer, Filippo Perini, is the former director of Lamborghini’s Centro Stile design center in Sant ‘Agata Bolognese. In his back catalogue are Lamborghinis such as the Aventador, Murciélago, Huracan, Urus and Reventon.
Once the cars are on sale, customers will be able to purchase online or through the ‘salons’ from which Aehras will be distributed.
Alastair Crooks