Folding Electric car Revealed in Europe

Jan 26 2012

Whether you have enough money to pay cash for a Rolls Royce or you are forever searching for a cheap car loan, once you have the car of your dreams you face the same problem as everybody else: where to get parking if you go on a quick trip to the city centre.

José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, took a step towards solving this problem recently when he revealed an electric car that can be folded up neatly to save parking space.

The Hiriko was developed in partnership between Basque businesses, the Spanish government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  It is a 100% electric two-seater using four-wheel drive – and it can be folded up when you get to the parking garage.

The Hiriko has an electric motor for each wheel.  It takes up only 67% of the space used by a Smart car and once the rear wheels have been slipped underneath the cabin it takes up very little space indeed.

The presentation took place at the headquarters of the EC in Brussels.  It was attended by a number of high ranking industry experts, EC officials and investors.

Although currently in the concept stage, the car will, in all likelihood, go into production in Spain early next year.  The first trials will start during the autumn of 2012 in cities such as Malmo, Bilbao and Boston.

The Chairman of Hiriko-AAfypaidia, Jesus Echave, said “Hiriko is not just an industrial and technological project of the highest level, it also provides solutions in terms of employment, urban mobility, business cooperation and attention to disadvantaged groups.”

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