Swedish electric vehicle technology company Inzile has taken important steps this year in establishing greater reach for its little modular Pro4 electric truck which, though small and with limited top speed and range, is nevertheless set to enter a vitally important segment of the global electric vehicle market.
Inzile in January began a targeted expansion into Norway, setting up a branch there with the purpose of selling the Pro4, which comes in either a tipper truck or a cabinet van and allows for specific user customisation through the company’s “build your own” purchase options.
Boasting a top speed of only 50km/h and a standard range of up to 120-kilometres, which can be extended to provide a total range of up to 240-kilometres, the Pro4 is powered by a 24kW motor using a lithium-ion battery. The tipper truck/flatbed version can carry loads up to 1,000-kilograms, while the cabinet van can carry loads up to 700-kilograms.
Already utilised by a number of companies across Sweden, the Pro4 is a perfect electric truck for work and distribution in cities, urban areas, parks, residential, and industrial areas. And Inzile is hoping Norway will embrace the e-truck.
“It feels natural that we begin our international expansion with our neighboring country Norway,” said Inzile’s CEO Ragnar Åhgren. Norway is at the forefront of the use of electric vehicles and we have for a long time experienced a strong demand for our products there.”
Currently, Inzile’s production facility in Västervik, Sweden, has an annual production capacity of 1,000 vehicles.
In a recent interview, the general manager of Inzile AS in Norway, Bjørn Helge Sivertsen, said the Norwegian branch hoped to sell between 50 and 100 vehicles in 2021, and would look to “typical customers” such as “municipalities, caretakers, landscape gardeners, road work, and road safety”.
Inzile was also announced last week as one of eight companies who qualified for Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions framework agreement for the procurement of electric vehicles, which is worth up to SEK 500 million and is aimed at making it easier for municipalities to procure electric work vehicles.
“Inzile’s qualification for SKR’s framework agreement shows that we have a competitive solution that helps municipalities to switch to fossil-free transport and create sustainable cities,” said Ragnar Åhgren, CEO of Inzile.
“We have previously delivered our electric truck to the city of Sundbyberg and are now looking forward to building on that experience in other parts of the country.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.