Industry News: AEHRA, Italy's Newest Electrical Vehicle Company

[G. David Felt]

AEHRA is an Italian EV startup that believes they can deliver a vision with a mission to the world. This company was assembled with an introduction of their leadership team in June 2022.

AEHRA Vision

Synthesize the elegance of Italian design global engineering, and American customer service with the future of EV monobodied manufacturing. AEHRA is intensely-focused on creating a driving experience that is always extraordinary. For business or pleasure, AEHRA is a valued necessity to everyday life that is as beautiful as it is functional.

AEHRA Mission

The mission of AEHRA is to provide customers with an unparalleled driving experience that is beautiful, environmentally respectful, and functional.

AEHRA is led by a team of industry experts who has deep auto credentials including the fact that they brought in former Lamborghini design boss Filippo Perini who is the Chief Design officer that is overseeing both their SUV and Sedan.

While the SUV was revealed in November 2022, the sedan was revealed at the 2023 Milan Motor Show this past Friday, June 16th 2023 to what one would call an Auto Fashion Show.

What is AEHRA? 

The company in their press release has stated that they will be a new global ultra-premium electric automotive brand. AEHRA EVs will have an exceptional three-meter (108 inch) wheelbase, providing class-leading occupant space, setting new standards for comfort, technology, materials and usability.

AEHRA believes that their bold strategy unlocks the full potential that only an EV focused platform affords. The AEHRA platform offers an avantgarde exterior design, while delivering a revolutionary interior concept. The AEHRA EVs exceptionally short overhangs, long wheelbase and completely flat floor have enabled their designers to create unique solutions that transforms the interior environment for drivers and passengers.

While AEHRA has not shown an actual interior for the autos, they did release the following interior design drawing.

AEHRA dashboard is what they call the HMI or Human Machine Interface. To quote them:

"The screen sits in a lower position, to display all the information the driver requires, such as speed, range, heating and ventilation settings and navigational instructions. The two outer areas of the screen serve as virtual exterior mirrors, relaying high-definition images from two front exterior side cameras. When the vehicle is parked, occupants can choose to extend the screen upwards, instantly transforming the AEHRA into a home theater or an office environment. 

This is a direct result of the game-changing approach taken by AEHRA to the exterior shape of its EVs. In traditional vehicle layouts the interior dimensions do not allow the front row passengers to operate such a flexible and expansive HMI screen because it would sit too close to their eyes. AEHRA has filed a patent for this solution, and it believes it will set new standards in terms of productivity and entertainment inside a vehicle."

To quote AEHRA Chief Design Officer Fillippo Perini:

“With the screen fully extended, the occupants can relax and enjoy a movie, perhaps when the car is charging or when a parent is waiting to pick up a child from school or a party. And for those who have work to do, the screen and the spacious interior afford the perfect solution for video conference calls. Instead of staring at your smartphone or laptop, you can sit back and not only see all the participants on the call-in perfect high-definition clarity, but also listen to them with crystal-clear, pitch-perfect audio quality.” 

As one can see in the pictures above, there is a secondary smaller touchscreen, this enables both front-seat occupants to control many of the vehicle's functions such as navigation, heating, ventilation as well as entertainment.

The aeronautic industry has been drawn on for inspiration in strength from lite weight design. As such, the seats have been created for low-weight, high-strength construction and optimum comfort levels. The seats will be constructed from Aluminum, recyclable carbon fiber composite and leather as one would find in first-class aircraft accommodations. Rear seats will have reclining levels greater than the front seats and on par with business class airline accommodations.

Where you have the SUV above, the Sedan also has the same inspired aeronautical seats but with a slight door difference.

AEHRA has stated that production will start in 2026 for both the SUV and the Sedan. The only other specification given at this time is that the driving range will be 800km or 497 miles of range for the sedan, a little less for the SUV. 

The rest of the specification will be released when reservations are opened to the public.

 

 AEHRA Electric Sedan and SUV - Cheers & Gears (cheersandgears.com)

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[smk4565]

This is going no where.

[G. David Felt]

17 hours ago, smk4565 said:

This is going no where.

I disagree, you can clearly see the Lambo influence in the front end design and for a high end luxury EV option, I can see the 1% class wanting a family hauler in a sedan and SUV like this. I would not be surprised to see this exceed the limited options of Lamborghini or Ferrari. 

Lamborghini and Ferrari have both stated they will stay focused on performance autos and yet while they have offered a 4 person suv option, they have clearly not cared about the 4/5 person sedan market.

Why else would Filippo leave the top spot at Lamborghini to go to a startup, he was limited and wanted to expand the portfolio, but the CEO and Board did not.

I fully expect this high end EV company to survive, how long in the current format is another question.

[smk4565]

5 hours ago, David said:

I disagree, you can clearly see the Lambo influence in the front end design and for a high end luxury EV option, I can see the 1% class wanting a family hauler in a sedan and SUV like this. I would not be surprised to see this exceed the limited options of Lamborghini or Ferrari. 

Lamborghini and Ferrari have both stated they will stay focused on performance autos and yet while they have offered a 4 person suv option, they have clearly not cared about the 4/5 person sedan market.

Why else would Filippo leave the top spot at Lamborghini to go to a startup, he was limited and wanted to expand the portfolio, but the CEO and Board did not.

I fully expect this high end EV company to survive, how long in the current format is another question.

Maybach, Bentley, Rolls, will all have EV's, Porsche already does, Lamborghini and Ferrari will get there.  Plenty for the 1% crowd to pick from, not sure they want an unknown brand, such as the Lucid Air that is a sales dud.

[G. David Felt]

59 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Maybach, Bentley, Rolls, will all have EV's, Porsche already does, Lamborghini and Ferrari will get there.  Plenty for the 1% crowd to pick from, not sure they want an unknown brand, such as the Lucid Air that is a sales dud.

But you have other than Porsche, stated 3 EV's that have not gotten there yet that is really aimed for the 1/10th of 1% from a price standpoint. Porsche is the really only 4/5 person EV that covers the 1% to the top 10% group.

Lamborghini and Ferrari, do not make any 4/5 person EV sedan, just an SUV.

I also do not expect all the current Legacy ICE auto companies to survive. I think Mazda, Nissan will end up in select markets only, if not outright bought out and merged in to a stronger auto companies' portfolio much like how Subaru is a subsidiary of Toyota even though it is a publicly traded company, Toyota owns a controlling interest due to GM's bankruptcy.

[smk4565]

8 hours ago, David said:

I disagree, you can clearly see the Lambo influence in the front end design and for a high end luxury EV option, I can see the 1% class wanting a family hauler in a sedan and SUV like this. I would not be surprised to see this exceed the limited options of Lamborghini or Ferrari. 

Lamborghini and Ferrari have both stated they will stay focused on performance autos and yet while they have offered a 4 person suv option, they have clearly not cared about the 4/5 person sedan market.

Why else would Filippo leave the top spot at Lamborghini to go to a startup, he was limited and wanted to expand the portfolio, but the CEO and Board did not.

I fully expect this high end EV company to survive, how long in the current format is another question.

We don't know a price range for these but Mercedes dominates the big sedan market, we've seen stuff like the Aston Martin Rapide and Jaguar XJ, Cadillac CT6 come and go.  There aren't enough sedan buyers at the higher end, even at $75,000+ to really have new entrants come in.  It isn't a growth segment.

On the SUV side, you have Tesla Model X, electric G-wagon and EV Escalade will be out by 2026, although the Escalade would be a North American thing, not European, but Mercedes, Audi, BMW will have plenty of electric SUVs in Europe before Aehra arrives.  

Aehra really has to be able to beat the competition on price, which they won't be able to do because they won't have their scale.  Lucid is already running out of money and they seemed a bit more fleshed out than this company is and Lucid hit the market when it wasn't as crowded with EV's, AEHRA is going to hit it when EV price wars are going on.

[ccap41]

18 hours ago, David said:

I also do not expect all the current Legacy ICE auto companies to survive. I think Mazda, Nissan will end up in select markets only, if not outright bought out and merged in to a stronger auto companies' portfolio much like how Subaru is a subsidiary of Toyota even though it is a publicly traded company, Toyota owns a controlling interest due to GM's bankruptcy.

I pretty  much hate everything Nissan but why do you think they'll go away or be bought out? 

[G. David Felt]

47 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

I pretty  much hate everything Nissan but why do you think they'll go away or be bought out? 

Nissan is in a weird place, the auto business is a small part of the much larger Nissan conglomeration of businesses. As such, they already did not want to put much money into the auto business as to why they partnered up with Renault.

I can easily see the larger parent company just decide to sell off rather than invest in the auto industry.

Just my personal opinion on it.

[Carguy]

That front axle looks to be where ones feet should be while sitting in the front seat. I thought FWD cars looked funny with no dash to axle spacing but this is goofy.

[Robert Hall]

cab-forward taken to extremes...

[oldshurst442]

Should electric vehicles follow the styling elements of internal combustion engined vehicles?

In an EV, there is no huge block of iron (or aluminium) to HAVE to be accounted for in the first third of the vehicle and then to stylize and prepare for the cabin. 

I mean, designers and engineers, cant they have carte blanche to design an EV with a brand new way of thinking and engineering?

Do they need to be shackled by old engineering and design standards?

When the automobile was first concieved and the body of the vehicle that housed the passengers was directly lifted by the horse and buggy carriages.  It took a couple of decades to get off of that idiotic way of engineering the 'horseless carriage'.  

I think, today's engineers and designers are smarter, wiser, keener than our forefathers when they done the first automobiles...

I also think its wiser to design and engineer EVs like they are their own entity. Because they are...

 

Stylistically.  There is nothing wrong with it. 

 

And if EVs start plopping out looking like that, inherently, there is nothing wrong with that either.

Smartly, they would be engineered this way to look exactly like that...  I presume, inherently, because of the lack of a huge iron or aluminium block up front, lends itself for there to be more cabin space for the passengers... 

Something that was thought of 20 some odd years ago...I might add.   From General Motors as it were...

 

 

 

Those Italian car pictures mimicking the HYWIRE pictures...

Edited August 29, 2023 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

I'd rather see more front structure for crumple zones and crash engineering... not a fan of the egg on wheels shape. 

[oldshurst442]

We have had prolific egg shape on wheel styling since the 1990s.  Ill agree that it has become old and outdated and perhaps archaic?   But Im not hatin' on the Aehra design language.   Im not full on enamored by it.  Im accepting of it.

I am GRATEFUL that whether its the SUV or sedan, they do NOT have the stereotypical crossover look to them.  

They got the new crossover CROSSOVER transition of the CUV to look like a sedan... A sleek sedan.  But sedan nontheless.

Like this KIA for example.  

 

Except the cab forward design taken to extreme like how you said @Robert Hall.

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by oldshurst442

[G. David Felt]

I have to say that I am liking the Performance versions of both Hyundai and Kia SUVs.

[Robert Hall]

16 minutes ago, David said:

I have to say that I am liking the Performance versions of both Hyundai and Kia SUVs.

After seeing a bunch in parking lots and in traffic, I really like the design of both of those.  Really like the Ionic 5 for its shape and quirky lighting details.