Photo: City Transformer
The last time we wrote about City Transformer, the Israeli startup did not have a name for its electric city car. It also lacked a production deadline, even if it already had a price tag: €12,000 ($12,719 at the current exchange rate), which was a promotion. The final price would be €16,000 ($16,958). City Transformer now wants people to seize another opportunity: anyone pre-ordering the CT-1 until December 31 will pay €12,500 ($13,249) when it is finally ready.
Yes, CT-1 is the name of the electric two-seater with variable tracks. Above 90 kph (56 mph), the axle extends to give the little City Transformer more stability. At lower speeds, the wheels retract, allowing the driver of this urban EV to park it practically anywhere.
Those who do not want the Santa Claus offer will see the reservation price rise to €13,000 ($13,779). Pre-orders demand €150 ($159) and the company said they are fully refundable. Considering the price when the vehicle hits production lines is still at €16,000, we suppose it will increase to €14,000 ($14,839), €15,000 ($15,899), and eventually hit the final rate by Q4 2024. That is when City Transformer wants the little car to meet its first customers. The Israeli startup did not disclose where the CT-1 will be manufactured nor if it will be in charge of making it.
Most startups prefer to hire manufacturing contractors, which is what Fisker and Lightyear did with their EVs. The only exception from the top of our heads is Aptera, but even the American EV maker may have someone else making them for its European customers.
One tip the company gave is that it signed a contract with Segula Technologies to finish the CT-1 development. Segula’s role in the project will “extend to prototype as well as pre-production testing of the CT-1, including homologation and final validation in preparation for market launch.”
On its website, Segula states that it has market expertise with Factory 4.0, meaning that it helps to integrate digital technologies into industrial facilities. These tools provide “total traceability of information, improved energy efficiency,” and “increasingly affordable technologies,” which deliver “proven gains in performance and revenue.” If Segula can take care of that, it may also help City Transformer create its own factory. If that is the case, it will not be easy.
The Israeli startup has raised $20 million since 2017 from organizations and individuals in its home country, Canada, Singapore, and the U.S. In 2023, it expects to collect $100 million more. Automotive plants cost usually north of $1 billion. Either the company will try to build a smaller and less complex production unit than traditional ones, or it will have to hire someone to build the CT-1.
Considering how long City Transformer will take to begin deliveries of its urban EV and how ready it already looks, the former hypothesis is more likely than the latter. The CT-1 probably fits as an L7e vehicle, which has much lower homologation requirements than an automobile.
Those who do not want the Santa Claus offer will see the reservation price rise to €13,000 ($13,779). Pre-orders demand €150 ($159) and the company said they are fully refundable. Considering the price when the vehicle hits production lines is still at €16,000, we suppose it will increase to €14,000 ($14,839), €15,000 ($15,899), and eventually hit the final rate by Q4 2024. That is when City Transformer wants the little car to meet its first customers. The Israeli startup did not disclose where the CT-1 will be manufactured nor if it will be in charge of making it.
Most startups prefer to hire manufacturing contractors, which is what Fisker and Lightyear did with their EVs. The only exception from the top of our heads is Aptera, but even the American EV maker may have someone else making them for its European customers.
One tip the company gave is that it signed a contract with Segula Technologies to finish the CT-1 development. Segula’s role in the project will “extend to prototype as well as pre-production testing of the CT-1, including homologation and final validation in preparation for market launch.”
On its website, Segula states that it has market expertise with Factory 4.0, meaning that it helps to integrate digital technologies into industrial facilities. These tools provide “total traceability of information, improved energy efficiency,” and “increasingly affordable technologies,” which deliver “proven gains in performance and revenue.” If Segula can take care of that, it may also help City Transformer create its own factory. If that is the case, it will not be easy.
The Israeli startup has raised $20 million since 2017 from organizations and individuals in its home country, Canada, Singapore, and the U.S. In 2023, it expects to collect $100 million more. Automotive plants cost usually north of $1 billion. Either the company will try to build a smaller and less complex production unit than traditional ones, or it will have to hire someone to build the CT-1.
Considering how long City Transformer will take to begin deliveries of its urban EV and how ready it already looks, the former hypothesis is more likely than the latter. The CT-1 probably fits as an L7e vehicle, which has much lower homologation requirements than an automobile.
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