AEHRA reveals luxury electric SUV

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Milan-based electric car maker AEHRA will take on the Lotus Eletre with its eye-catching new SUV.

Luxury electric SUVs are certainly in vogue with the world’s premium and performance car makers. But now, there’s a new kid on the block: AEHRA, which is aiming to disrupt the sector with its all-new SUV.

The AEHRA marque was only launched earlier this year, so its first vehicle has been turned around impressively quickly. Based in Milan, the firm says its as yet unnamed SUV “rewrites the automotive design rulebook” and is takes design inspiration from motorbikes and supercars.

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For an SUV, the AEHRA is remarkably sleek in its proportions, featuring ultra-slim overhangs and a windscreen that extends over the front axle. The surfacing is smooth and there are no protruding door handles, which could aid the SUV’s drag coefficient, along with the tiny virtual door mirrors.

The front-end is distinguished by the use of thin lighting strips for the headlights and fog lights. Behind the front wheels are some huge air vents, which will help channel air away from the wheel arch, while there are similar elements on the bonnet. The AEHRA has also been designed to incorporate active aerodynamic elements.

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The sloping roofline means AEHRA’s creation is very much a coupe-SUV, and at the rear we see another thin LED lighting arrangement. The car’s most eye-catching feature is undoubtedly the scissor doors or “elytra-like” according to AEHRA. Both the front and rear open vertically to give occupants an easier time getting in and out.

The firm claims its SUV will use “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”.

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Expect a battery capacity of 120kWh in the SUV – which would make it the largest available in a production electric car today. Charging should be up with the fastest in the EV world with plans for market-leading 850V architecture. The battery will sit in the middle of a lengthy three-metre wheelbase. The SUV sits on a monocoque body with carbon-fibre used in its construction and AEHRA says this will offer “exceptional agility and driving pleasure”. The same platform and battery will also feature on an upcoming sedan model.

Speaking to Automotive Daily’s UK correspondent, AEHRA CEO Hazim Nada spoke about the SUV and its follow-up sedan model being built for right-hand drive but Australia is not on the horizon, “The UK will be an important market for us. We’re going to start with the North American market, Europe and the UK. The second stage will be dedicated to the Gulf countries and China”.

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AEHRA isn’t looking too closely at potential rivals however. “We have a price bracket in mind, so we’re targeting high premium, $160,000 to $180,000, 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 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% (recyclable)”.

Both the SUV and saloon are planned to reach global markets by 2025 and customers will be able to purchase them online or through the ‘salons’ from which AEHRAs will be distributed.

Alastair Crooks

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