WEVC introduces PACES platform to smooth transition to EVs
Watt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC) recently announced the launch of its PACES platform in an attempt to streamline the automation industry’s transition to an electricity-fuelled future. Sustainability and ongoing climate concerns remain at the forefront of customer's and investor’s minds when eyeing the future of the vehicle sector, but WEVC is determined to jump on the bandwagon and supply the industry with the latest and most innovative architecture to ensure as smooth a transition as possible.
What is the PACES platform?
PACES - Passenger And Commercial EV Skateboard - is an effective, lightweight, and low-cost piece of architecture that can fit almost any shape and size of an electric vehicle, a quality attributable to its multi-material primary structure and integrated cell to the chassis battery system.
WEVC raises PACES’ lightweight extrusions and laser cut components in response to its competitors' vastly more expensive and complicated aluminium counterparts. Boasting a single-stage coat and cure process and its patent-protected FlexTech architecture system, PACES platforms are bespoke, affordable, and appealing to the average industry customer for their accuracy and structural reliability.
“With ever-increasing pressure on urban emissions, coupled with the growth in-home delivery, we have been approached by multiple commercial vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators, who are in desperate need of developing the next generation of electric vans, trucks, and buses,” said Neil Yates, Founder and Owner of WEVC.
“As [the] electrification of the sector only accelerates, what these companies need is a ready-to-go, sophisticated yet cost-effective EV platform on which to build their vehicles – that is Watt Electric Vehicle Company’s PACES architecture.
“Thanks to the support of Innovate UK grant funding, we will reveal our first prototype electric commercial vehicle, based on PACES, by the end of Q1 2022. Production of a new range of PACES-based electric commercials by WEVC is then scheduled to begin in our new Midlands facility in Q3 2023. Through this facility, we will have the capacity to build 2,500-5,000 units a year.”
Coupe breaks the mould
Of course, WEVC wasn’t going to trial its latest toy out on just any vehicle. The company nominated its Coupe to be the first passenger vehicle to test out the innovative EV architecture, and initial results show promise.
Reportedly, PACES allowed the vehicle’s weight to remain under 1,000kg while also embedding a 40kWh battery into the chassis. After surpassing the compulsory EUSSTA safety and crash testing standards and achieving almost completely even weight distribution, the trial was deemed an overwhelming success.
“We have been overwhelmed by the response to our launch of the WEVC Coupe with very few Limited Edition cars remaining available,” continues Yates. “Alongside the production of this new EV at our existing factory, WEVC will also establish another facility in Cornwall in 2023, an all-new facility that will focus on the low-volume manufacturing of sports cars and passenger EVs, at volumes of around 150 units per year.
“Together with manufacturing in the Midlands of electric commercial vehicles, my vision is for Watt Electric Vehicle Company to lead the production of tomorrow’s low volume electric vehicles."
