Goodyear co-operates with StreetScooter at the Geneva Motor Show

Named after the popular "autoscooter" that children and adults enjoy at fairs all around the world, the StreetScooter is a new way of approaching tomorrow's car. The car is designed to operate in tomorrow's inner cities, delivering a compact, yet roomy, car that runs on electricity, delivers almost no pollutants to the environment and runs quietly. The project is being followed by Goodyear as it is fully aligned with its vision of developing a sustainable future for mobility.

Streetscooter is not the product of a single firm, but the result of a major venture partnership between about 20 companies: auto parts suppliers, technology companies, software developers, university researchers, and so forth. The project is a major collaboration between small or medium companies that not only have a hand in building the car, but also in creating it. Each partner can provide its own advanced technologies to help deliver an inner-city car. The result is a modular vehicle, with parts that can be added, removed and reused depending on customer preference. The modular approach gives the car an additional edge as it can be built quickly and inexpensively.

Fills the gap

"The StreetScooter fills the gap that lies today between two-wheel and existing cars and serves the needs of daily urban mobility from 45 up to 130km and 15 000km per year at a top speed of 105km/h with an optimal price-performance ratio," said Professor Achim Kampker, CEO of StreetScooter. It can seat two or three-plus-one passengers and offers up to 850l of volume in the boot."

The StreetScooter was born in Aachen, Germany. But it soon became international with the involvement of specialists from different companies. "Each company involved in the project brings its expertise and manufacturing capabilities, according to Kampker. "Obviously, for what Goodyear is concerned, the challenge was to develop a tyre that manages the specific needs of electric vehicles, which often provide a relatively constant torque, even at very low speeds, which increases the acceleration performance of an electric vehicle in comparison to a vehicle with a similar internal combustion engine."

The StreetScooter will launch in several European markets later on this year. "The goal was not just to conceive an electric vehicle, but to produce a car dedicated to the consumers' needs at a fraction of the cost of the existing electric cars," added Kampker. "With zero emission for a compact car equipped with innovative infotainment system and a fresh, fully functional and flexible interior that matches many customers' needs, we succeeded in reaching a usage cost lower than 3 euros per 100 km. We're particularly happy with Goodyear's contribution as their expertise simply was vital to the project."

"At Geneva, Goodyear is presenting several distinct projects that have to do with future sustainability - including low rolling resistance tyres with A-grade European tyre labels and our Air Maintenance Technology tyre," added Lie Junius, director for public affairs of Goodyear EMEA. "They reflect our views on the how we see the need for sustainable mobility in tomorrow's world, building on a need to decrease emissions on the road. It is part of our commitment to a sustainable future."