More ‘Olli’ AVs under partnership

Autonomous vehicle (AV) manufacturer Local Motors and automotive tech firm Protean Electric have expanded their long-standing partnership under a three-year deal valued at US$7.3 million.

This enables Protean Electric to deliver thousands of its ProteanDrive in-wheel motors (IWMs) to power Local Motors’ Olli 2.0 electric autonomous shuttles, accelerating their roll-out around the world.

Olli AVs are used on campuses and selected city streets in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

The ProteanDrive in-wheel motors are lighter, smoother and more energy-efficient that many alternatives like e-axles, also allowing Local Motors to maximise passenger space, vehicle range, and platform reliability.

“Now in live deployments around the world, Olli is truly changing the way that we look at transportation, providing a smart, safe, sustainable option for getting around,” Local Motors president Vikrant Aggarwal says.

This major new order for ProteanDrive in-wheel motors comes amid burgeoning market demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

BloombergNEF says adoption of BEVs is set to grow from 3% of global automotive sales in 2020 to 28% in 2030 and reach 58% by 2040.

“This new deal not only reinforces Local Motors’ commitment to the ProteanDrive IWM solution but offers important industry validation that the technology is mature, reliable, scalable, and delivers the cost and performance needed to address the massive acceleration in electric vehicle adoption,” Protean Electric chief executive Andrew Whitehead says.

Globally, Protean Electric has more than 200 patents (and 120 patents pending) across 75 patent families with operations in the United Kingdom, China and the USA. It is a subsidiary of National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) and part of China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group.

Since its inception in 2007, Local Motors has debuted three world firsts – a co-created vehicle, a 3D-printed car, and the co-created Olli AV.