The US startup Indigo Technologies presented two new vehicle designs at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas: the Indigo Flow for ridesharing services and the Indigo Flow Plus delivery van. The special feature of the two vehicles is the electric drive. In Indigo, “Robotic Wheels” mentioned wheel hub motors are used, each with 22 kW power, in which the gearbox and active suspension is also integrated. The latter is intended to compensate for the greatest disadvantage of wheel hub motors, the higher unsprung masses. Both the Flow and the Flow Plus are said to have a range of up to 250 miles with a 40 kWh battery, the equivalent of around 400 kilometers.
With the explosive growth of on-demand delivery and ridesharing, and with companies like Uber and Amazon joining the Climate Pledge, delivering efficient and capable electric cars is imperative, Indigo Technologies said in a recent statement. “Indigo invented the robotic wheels, which allow more space and comfort for small urban electric vehicles,” says Will Graylin, CEO of Indigo, and explains the advantages of this drive concept as follows: “Without a gearbox and motor between the wheels, the Indigo Flow has a low, flat floor that offers more cargo space than any other vehicle of its size. And active suspension in each wheel delivers amazing ride comfort at an affordable price people will love.”
The driver sits in the middle of both vehicle models. Its footwell is where the engine sits in other vehicles. This allows significantly more usable volume behind the driver’s seat. The Flow and the Flow Plus are still studies. Indigo has not yet made any statements about the production or the introduction of a series version.
As part of the vehicle presentation, Indigo also announced some interesting personal details: Volker Kaese, former Head of Innovation Product Management at Audi, has joined Indigo as Chief Technology Officer. “I look forward to making the greatest possible impact on the driving experience and the environment,” Kaese said in a statement from Indigo. “From the spacious interior to the sliding doors, the Indigo Flow will allow drivers to do their jobs more efficiently. In the end, they can earn more while doing good for our planet.”
Kaese, who led the development of the one-liter plug-in Volkswagen XL1 and the Audi e-tron show cars, among other things, brings more than 20 years of vehicle innovation to Indigo’s vehicle programs. Also joining Indigo are Eric Obers, formerly head of design at Porsche and Lucid, and Hugh Robinson, formerly employed at Porsche and General Motors, to design to lead the Flow product line.
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We’ve had the sea cucumber theme, the suppository theme, and now we’ve got the platypus theme.
Since the Fiat Multipla can pack but!… uiuiui … not my case 🙂
I think the inner values count much more if they are right, appearance can be changed.
Attractive design. Very interesting concept and technique.I’m curious about the details. Hopefully the flow makes it into the series. The large body surfaces are also very suitable for PV. If it doesn’t have a superfluous glass roof, which for unknown reasons is becoming more and more common in this class of vehicles. Hopefully Volker Kaese PV is also on the radar.