Automotive

UP Super Board "skateboard chassis" could boost the production of EVs

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The UP Super Board on display at CES – the Olympian Motors Model 01, which utilizes the platform, is visible in the background
U Power Tech
A closer look at Olympian Motors' Model 01
Olympian Motors
The Super Board equipped with a simple seat and roll cage for testing
U Power Tech
The Super Board is being licensed to automakers, although U Power is also using it in vehicles of its own
U Power Tech
The UP Super Board on display at CES – the Olympian Motors Model 01, which utilizes the platform, is visible in the background
U Power Tech
A rendering of U Power Tech's UP Van
U Power Tech
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Imagine how much faster and easier it would be to produce electric cars if you didn't have to design or build the chassis and drivetrain. That's the idea behind so-called "skateboard chassis," such as the soon-to-hit-the-roads UP Super Board.

Currently being showcased at CES 2024, the Super Board is made by Chinese electric mobility company U Power Tech.

Like similar offerings from firms like REE, it's essentially a ready-to-roll platform upon which different third-party vehicle bodies can be mounted. Automakers such as Honda and Hyundai are also developing skateboard chassis for use in their own electric vehicles.

The Super Board is being licensed to automakers, although U Power is also using it in vehicles of its own
U Power Tech

Along with simply serving as a base for the body, the Super Board incorporates the batteries (under the floor), front and rear motors, suspension, thermal management system, drive-by-wire steering hardware, plus a Level 2+ driver assistance system (in which steering, braking and accelerating are automated, but a driver must always be present and ready to take control).

The exact technical specifications will vary depending on the requirements of the individual automakers to whom the technology is licensed. In any case, U Power claims that use of its platform should reduce the development time of EVs by at least six months, while also greatly reducing costs. Additionally, with the chassis already taken care of, automobile designers could conceivably be more creative when it comes to the look and layout of cars' bodies.

A closer look at Olympian Motors' Model 01
Olympian Motors

Such certainly seems to be the case with the eye-catching Model O1, a Super-Board-based EV manufactured by New York-based Olympian Motors. The first batch of the cars should be shipping to US customers later this year.

U Power is also manufacturing a Super-Board-based EV of its own, called the UP Van. The cargo vehicle can carry up to 3,500 lb (1,588 kg) and reportedly travel up to 171 miles (275 km) per battery-charge. Deliveries to commercial clients in North America, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe and China should commence in the second half of this year.

A rendering of U Power Tech's UP Van
U Power Tech

Detroit's Lumos EV Inc is additionally developing a last-mile commercial van, the LC2, which is based on the UP Van model (including the Super Board). It should be available in Mexico by the middle of this year, with a rollout into the US and Canada planned for early 2025.

You can see an early version of the UP Super Board ripping around on a frozen lake, in the video below.

Source: U Power Tech

View gallery - 5 images
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6 comments
vince
Skateboard EVs is just same game that slot cars were doing over 60 years ago. Slot cars had inxredibly low center of gravities and went like beejesus around corners. And 2000 scale mph made them so fast your eyes had hard time keeping up.
Rusty
Cool! Now they will end up making vehicles like the NASCAR vehicle. Other than the outer "skin", they will pretty much be all alike on the inside! :(
Spud Murphy
Doesn't look very repairable. I expect any accident that is more than a low speed, superficial impact will result in damage to the skateboard and an immediately written off vehicle. This is not the way to go, we need EVs that are modular and easily repairable.
DavidB
@vince, a low center of gravity is a common characteristic of nearly every modern EV. It’s not at all novel, nor is it unique to this “skateboard” by any means.
1stClassOPP
Aren’t auto makers now using a common drive trains with different body styles? In the seventies, I stripped a VW, shortened the frame, and built a Woden body for it, as many VWs were turned into “dune buggies “. Same, only different.
markhahn
Anything that gets us closer to modular and then repairable cars, is great!

It's gross that we've had to deal with vertical bundles from vendors for so long, and it drives up the price.