Evelozcity, a Los Angeles based electric vehicle (EV) and future mobility start-up, has announced that ex-Opel chief Karl-Thomas (KT) Neumann will join the company’s executive team and board of directors.
Neumann, who was most recently CEO of Opel/Vauxhall in Europe, will be in charge of ‘mobility’ for the company and will ‘set the direction for the company’s new connected car experience and mobility concepts, as well as oversee customer experience, branding, marketing and the European market’. One of Neumann’s first priorities will be leading innovative solutions such as evelozcity’s blockchain strategy.
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Neumann stepped down as Opel/Vauxhall CEO last summer, following General Motors‘ decision to sell its loss-making European operations to PSA Group.
Neumann is described by Evelozcity as a ‘longtime advocate and early pioneer of electric mobility’. Back in 2009 he took over Volkswagen‘s company-wide responsibility for electric propulsion.
“I have looked at many options and believe that the traditional carmakers will not be driving the change.”
“These are disruptive times for the traditional car industry,” said Neumann. “We need new transportation concepts and e-mobility to free cities of traffic and pollution. I have looked at many options and believe that the traditional carmakers will not be driving the change. Evelozcity reflects my beliefs of what is required and that’s why I joined.”
Evelozcity is led by Stefan Krause, who is the former CFO of both Deutsche Bank and BMW AG. Ulrich Kranz, formerly a leading figure at BMW i, is in charge of technology and BMW i3 and i8 designer, Richard Kim, is in charge of design.
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By GlobalData“What will set apart the winning automotive start-ups are the teams that lead them,” said Krause. “KT is internationally renowned and has the perfect blend of industry expertise mixed with the drive and vision to create change. We are proud to welcome him to Evelozcity.”
Evelozcity says it is breaking free from ‘traditional hierarchy and taking a modern approach to management for faster and more precise decision making’. Evelozcity is ‘headed by its four leaders and the company does not use conventional job titles’.
Founded in December 2017, Evelozcity says it is ‘creating innovative and affordable electric vehicles to address the future urban needs of three main use cases: commuting, ride-sharing and package delivery’.
Focused on uncompromising electric vehicle design, Evelozcity says it is breaking away from the car industry’s traditional ‘three box concept’ that conventionally houses the engine, passengers and luggage in separate compartments.
Core to its strategy, the company is developing a ‘skateboard architecture’ to house the battery and electric drivetrain and cabins will be installed over this platform to create three unique vehicles:
- Personal car
- Last-mile delivery vehicle
- Ride-hailing car
Evelozcity’s ‘pragmatic and asset-lean approach’ also includes the decision to use contract manufacturing partnerships to outsource production.
Evelozcity is creating a boutique Californian brand that will provide options to individuals who do not want to drive cars from manufacturers associated with gasoline vehicles. The native EV company plans to launch its first vehicle in 2021, followed by rapid deployment of further variants.
The boutique Californian EV brand plans to launch its first vehicle in 2021 in the US, with other markets to follow.
