Less than half a year ago, the LIUX project was announced for the first time, a startup company that promised to develop an advanced electric car made from vegetable fibers molded with 3D printing. Due to its ambitious release date (2024) and to the non-existent previous experience of the company in the automotive sector, its viability was quickly called into question by the media and Internet users.
The LIUX Animal, the name with which the company’s first model has been baptized, is a shooting brake that promises a range of up to 600 km at a competitive starting price of just 35,000 euros, numbers that anyone familiar with the current market will qualify as unrealistic, to say the least.
Now, LIUX has finished burying its credibility by announcing that it will postpone the development of the Animal to focus on another model: the Geko, an urban two-seater framed within the L7e category (heavy quadricycles)in which proposals such as the Microlino, the Mobilize Duo and the Silence S04 also compete.
The bodywork and monocoque of the Geko, which It will measure 2.70 meters long and 1.50 meters wide, they will be made with a biomaterial composed of flax fiber and biobased resin. The firm promises a top speed of 100 km/h (the legal limit for L7e quadricycles is 90 km/h, so we assume that this is an error) and a range of 150 km per charge, figures of course more. realistic than those of the Animal.
The LIUX Geko is a heavy quadricycle (category L7e)
The modular battery announces a capacity of 13 kWh and the total weight of the vehicle is around 550 kg, the limit of the category. Now, is an initiative trustworthy that in just five months has given a 180 degree turn to its strategy and that has yet to demonstrate its technical and economic solvency? A priori, things do not look too good.
«With everything learned in the development of LIUX Animal, we reflected and asked ourselves, What cars do people really need in their day to day?What cars does the planet need? Are we on the right path to fulfill our mission of achieving the most sustainable cars on the planet?
Cities need cars that are light, efficient, use little energy, generate little traffic, are easy to park, are sustainable and accessible. This urban vehicle with a linen body reduces the carbon dioxide footprint by 40% compared to the most efficient electric car and up to 80% compared to a gasoline SUV. The LIUX Geko seeks to respond to the real needs of people and the planet. And also, be super attractive«.
