Squad Solar City Car launches design update with doors and aircon options

Squad Mobility has released the design update of its Squad Solar City Car.

Most noticeable changes are two new door options; half doors for splash reduction and full doors with windows offering full weather protection.

The full door version is now also offered with air-conditioning, a unique feature for a micro car of this size and price point. (The Squad starts at €5,750 ($6,325) ex. tax.) Besides the design update, Squad Mobility now also offers two extra pre-order options, a €50 ($55) option and even a €5 ($5.5) option for countries outside the European Union.

Robert Hoevers said: “After our media release last November we have received tremendous interest from all over the world. We have received a lot of feedback as well from consumers, MaaS operators, distributors, suppliers and investors.”

There have specifically been a lot of questions about doors. Although the company likes the idea of the new archetype of a Light Electric Vehicle without doors, a lot of customers reached out with their wish for the increased weather protection and safety aspects (theft, unauthorised use etc.) of doors. The company listened carefully to the valuable feedback and unveiled the updated Squad Solar City Car range with a choice of doors and even air-conditioning for various use cases.

The company offers both half doors for increased safety and protection from splash water as well as full doors for full weather protection, comfort and the possibility to completely lock the car for theft prevention. Full doors also give protection from nearby exhaust emissions. The company also noticed an increased demand for full doors because of the current corona crisis. Both types of doors can be quickly removed for those nice summer days.

Chris Klok, Chief of Design, worked on the design update: “There are quite a few minor detail updates and some larger ones. The solar roof generates 20% more power, by using more powerful cells and increasing the solar cell area. The doors add to the feeling of safety and protection, however, we were also keen on keeping the social interaction and the feeling of freedom the open version offers. Therefore we have opted for removable doors which is a challenging but satisfying solution.”

The added option for air-conditioning offers comfort for the warmest circumstances. Although this implies adding an extra battery for the increased energy demand. But as warmer circumstances also means more sunshine, a large part of the cooling can be powered by the increased solar energy charged, the company figured this is quite an elegant solution nevertheless.

Next to the design update, Squad Mobility has also added two new pre-order options. The company added a €50 ($55) pre-order option next to the Signature versions of €5,000 ($5,500) and the Pioneer versions of €500 ($550). The Signature versions are now the first 100 Squads complete with two batteries providing the maximum range of 100 km. The Pioneer versions are production numbers 101 to 1000 and the regular production pre-orders of €50 ($55) are the production numbers over and above 1000. All pre-orders are fully refundable except for a 3% administration and payment provider fee.

Although the Squad will initially be homologated for the EU market, worldwide pre-orders from outside the EU are being accepted now. Because the production and delivery dates for countries outside the EU are not yet determined, the pre-order fee outside the EU is set at €5 ($5.5). Distribution outside the EU will be prioritised based on the number of pre-orders from those markets.