TROPOS delivers first electric compact utility vehicle
The first electric utility vehicle made by TROPOS MOTORS EUROPE was handed over to the industrial services provider, IFÜREL EMSR-Technik, on 12 May.
The official handover of the Tropos ABLE vehicle that was manufactured in Herne to its first customer was postponed by several weeks because of the measures introduced at the end of March to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The factory for the e-mobility brand, which has just been launched in the European market, started production in Herne in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia at the end of March. The alternative drive concepts offer enormous potential for climate and environment protection in modern mobility concepts.
The IFÜREL family business provides industrial services in the fields of electrical engineering, measurement, control and regulation technology as well as automation and process control engineering. Its employees travel about 7.5 million kilometres every year, including trips at building sites, factory premises or chemical parks. The compact Tropos ABLE electric transport vehicles are ideally suited for this type of factory traffic, where there is normally a maximum speed limit of 25 km/h and the distance covered during any day rarely exceeds 30 kilometres.
“Corporate social responsibility has a long history at our company. People and their safety are our major focus. Then comes climate protection. As a company, we’re trying not to live at the expense of subsequent generations at all times and we’re seeking to change the world wherever we can influence matters. Switching to electrical drive systems is a good example of this,” says Henrich Kleyboldt, Managing Director of IFÜREL EMSR-Technik, explaining the decision to make use of electric vehicles, and he adds, “We’re delighted to be the first in Europe to accept a Tropos ABLE vehicle. If it proves successful for our purposes in operating conditions, we’re planning to expand our electric fleet.”
“Handing over the vehicle to IFÜREL EMSR is a milestone for our young Tropos brand. A long-standing company in Herne is receiving the first Tropos ABLE, which has been manufactured in Herne,” says Markus Schrick, Managing Director of TROPOS MOTORS EUROPE. He is certain that it will not stop at just one Tropos ABLE for IFÜREL EMSR. “TROPOS MOTORS EUROPE will always follow the principle that its products must meet German quality standards and the technical requirements in all respects. Then we’ll be successful in Germany, Europe and beyond.”
The Tropos ABLE models have an operating range of up to 260 km and can be supplied with either an AGM battery or lithium-ion technology. As the vehicles are 1.40 metres wide and 3.70 metres long, they can either be used on the open road or in enclosed areas. The Tropos ABLE has the largest loading space in the L7E category of vehicles and can carry payloads weighing 565 kilograms overall. The load platforms can be changed in a very short time.
The Mayor of Herne, Dr Frank Dudda, is proud of the developments in his town. “We’re once again demonstrating today that Herne can handle the future and is an automobile town. Vehicle production has returned to the Ruhr region through TROPOS MOTORS EUROPE. That’s an important signal, particularly at this time. Attracting the MOSOLF Group, one of the leading systems providers for the automobile industry in Europe, to our town makes me extremely happy and it’s a great boost to our economic structure. The fact that the first electric vehicle manufactured here is going to a long-established family business in our town also illustrates that tradition and progress go hand in hand here.”
