Our recent rundown of the coming "Transportation Appliance" marketplace has unearthed yet another another compact fold-up electric vehicle that appears set to become the smallest of the last-mile transport options.
Well-known Israeli Industrial Designer Nimrod Sapir has devoted much of his life to figuring out better ways of "getting there."
Nimrod designed the ingenious Tagabike we featured four years ago, which takes all the benefits of a bicycle and a stroller and puts them together in one multifunctional people carrier.
His two Myway EV designs are the ones which we were alerted to after the Transportation Appliance article, and they are right at the forefront of compact EV design globally. The MyWay Compact is so small and practical, it might play a major role in transportation in the future.
Sapir has spent the last few decades designing an array of appliances, machines, vehicles, toys, and the like for other companies. In 2009, he focused a lifetime's work on transportation solutions into one product – the Myway Compact.
"I have always looked for ways to get there faster, how to leave the latest yet arrive in time for my meeting", says Sapir. "I've always had bicycles, motorbikes, in-line skates, skateboards … MyWay is the development of my quest for a perfect solution for time-saving transportation."
"Why use a tonne and a half of metal to transport 80 kg [176 lbs] when you can carry your 12 kg [26.5 lb] transporter into your office, house, supermarket, friends’ houses and your meeting?"
The first MyWay is available now (the MyWay Quick) and sells for US$2,133 (including VAT in Israel) and although it weighs just 12.3 kg (27.12 lbs) and folds up relatively small, Sapir says the MyWay Quick is an interim solution until he can get the MyWay Compact into production.
"There is just a small venture capital industry in Israel and after looking around for the right partners, I decided to go it alone and finance the MyWay Quick myself which makes expansion a lot slower than I'd like", said Sapir.
"So to tool up properly and build the MyWay Compact efficiently in volume, I'm now seeking partners, preferably partners who can bring more to the table than just money – companies which can offer distribution or manufacturing or some quality which adds to the likelihood of success. If anyone fits that bill as a potential partner, or they're interested in distribution in their country, they are welcome to contact me."
The MyWay Compact is a progression which weighs slightly more (13.5 kg / 29.76 lbs) than the currently available MyWay Quick, but folds up into a bundle just 65 x 26 x 23 cm (25.6 x 10.2 x 9 inches) with a carrying handle.
"We have a working prototype and the next step is production. Until that happens, our existing MyWay Quick offers a 12 kg transportation appliance that will take you 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) in an hour – it just isn't quite as compact as the MyWay Compact – but then again, nothing else is that small anyway," he laughs.
Nimrod is confident both machines could be reduced to under 10 kg (22 lbs) with more exotic materials.
Source: Myway
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