Italian startup Aehra plans electric crossover with 800 km range

MILAN -- Aehra Automobili, an Italian startup, is seeking to bring to market a lightweight, full-electric crossover with a potential range of 800 km (498 miles) by 2025.

The SUV was shown as a static concept this month in Milan. The 5100-mm long car is similar in length to a large premium crossover or SUV, but is just 1640-mm tall and would weigh less than 2 metric tons in production form, Aehra says.

The concept was designed by Filippo Perini, whose previous jobs were at Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, Italdesign and Genesis. 

It has butterfly doors, similar to those used in the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, and a carbon-fiber monocoque body.

Perini and his team used computational fluid dynamics to generate a sleek, flowing body with a cab-forward look and “exceptional” aerodynamics. The lines were inspired by the form of a wing, said Aehra co-founder Sandro Andreotti.

Aerodynamic features include movable elements at the front and rear, which help optimize drag coefficient and thermal management of the batteries, thus increasing the range of the car.

According to provisional figures from Aehra, a 110-kilowatt-hour battery would provide a range of at least 800 km (498 miles) between charges, which would be a remarkable performance if compared with current vehicles in the same category. The electric motor would have a power output of 550 to 600 kilowatts.

The SUV would be priced at $160,000 to $180,000, according to Aehra. The SUV would be followed by a sedan whose concept is to be unveiled in February 2023. Both would see first deliveries in 2025, the company said.

Aehra’s founder and main shareholder is Hazim Nada, a 40-year-old U.S.-born Italian citizen who is the son of an Egyptian banker living in Switzerland. His previous job was in commodity trading, through his Swiss company Lord Energy.

Other recent EV startups have struggled, including in Italy Silk-FAW, a venture between U.S. automotive engineering and design firm Silk EV and Chinese automaker FAW. It planned to develop and produce electric and hybrid luxury hypercars in China and in Italy under the Hongqi brand. Production was expected to start in Italy at the beginning of 2023 but the plan has yet to make significant progress. 

Aehra, whose name comes from the Latin word for “era,” has not announced any industrial partner, although it has a production target of 20,000 to 25,000 units a year.

Nada said Aehra aims to assemble the car in Italy “or close to Italy” because it will use a high percentage of composite material, a specialty of Italian manufacturing. 

Nada told Automotive News Europe that Aehra’s business plan, including two cars and a factory, would require a $750 million investment.

Aehra’s resources are so far limited to several million euros of seed investment by founders. Nada said a second round of financing of approximately $50 million is under way with “two large European funds” and should be closed by January. 

According to Nada, the main investment would come either from a second round of funding through a SPAC or an IPO toward the end of 2024, in case the SPAC market does not improve.

Nada described the investment as “relatively low compared to standards,” because Aehra “will use materials which allow us to remove certain elements of a traditional assembly line, especially the aluminum presses and the paint shop.” 

Tooling and production costs could be cut with sheet molding compound, or SMC, technology as well as the use of recycled carbon fiber, he said.