Motive Switch

7. Motive Switch

Motive Industries (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) /// 100 mpg /// Pricing not available /// motiveind.com

These engineers are bold about their capabilities and honest when it comes to their limitations: “We have the experience building vehicles, but not necessarily the powertrain systems experience,” admits Motive VP of engineering Nathan Armstrong, a veteran of small production and high-end-concept-vehicle development. The team has completed the design phase for the battery exchange hybrid electric vehicle and is getting to mill the first full-size vehicle body. As the AXP moves forward, Motive plans to showcase the prototype and partner with powertrain experts from other teams or companies that don’t have their kind of design—or a means of production.

How it Works

Motive’s four-passenger, two-door “hot hatch” runs about the size of a Toyota Matrix or Volvo C30. It’s a range-extended hybrid that will use a small internal combustion engine as a generator. Armstrong thinks a tiny, 800-cc diesel or a motorcycle engine would work well, but he’d really like to employ a miniturbine. The four-year-old company is pairing with Weismann Transmissions to develop the world’s first six-speed EV transmission, with software controls by systems supplier Flextronics. What’s more, Motive plans to use an aluminum and composite-steel body structure with an aluminum framework around the battery box—one that lets you easily remove and replace battery packs.

Bottom Line

In terms of ultimate feasibility, that’s the big idea behind the Switch: Provide consumers with a hybrid that gets serious range, then make them replace their own batteries. With funding from Simmons Financial Holding Corporation and a staff that will expand from eight to 20 by year’s end, Motive can hopefully find some suitable gearhead geeks to get them from mill to rent-by-mile by the AXP’s racing rounds.