Tum Create EVA – Singaporean EV taxi Tokyo-bound

tum ev taxi sketch

A break from Frankfurt with news about a prototype that will be heading to the Tokyo Motor Show in November. It’s an electric taxi prototype built by Singapore-based Tum Create, a joint electromobility project between Technische Universität München (TUM) and Nanyang Technological University.

The project, funded by the National Research Foundation, is housed at the NRF’s Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), leading to the project’s name.

The electric taxi prototype is very much a showcase of the EV-based research and development carried out by the project. The design is also significant in that it will be the first time a Singaporean organisation will be exhibiting at the show.

tum ev line drawing

The EVA, as it has been badged, was designed from the ground-up as an e-taxi and is a result of interdisciplinary research in areas such as energy storage, battery charging, thermal management, and lightweight materials and design.

Novelties include a super-fast charging ability – the Tum Create team has apparently developed a battery pack that can be recharged in 15 minutes to achieve a realistic operating range of 200 km, this with the air conditioner switched on. The range is calculated based on data collected by the organisation’s researchers, who tracked driving patterns of Singaporean taxi drivers.

Tum Create says that it is aiming to address the issues of limited range and long recharge time of EVs, things that make them rather unsuitable for use as taxis. The project also seeks to find solutions to the unique challenges posed by the heat and humidity in tropical climates, where passenger cooling and battery pack heat management are very much issues. More on this one when Tokyo comes.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • Jimmy on Sep 09, 2013 at 9:48 pm

    So everybody is busy about whether or not to bom Syria, how to makan suap kenyang-kenyang, how to make much more business and money, how to prepare Olympic 2020 Tokyo etc, but
    it seems like nobody cares about the tremendously huge quantity of long-half-life long-lasting radioactive substances that are leaking into our water and food chains. Do we want the health of our anak/cucu/cicit ?
    We still want to fight against each other, openly or otherwise, why not we just gather together our effort to solve the universal/international radiactive crisis in Japan?
    Where is Obama?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 21
  • Impressive

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 0
  • i mean imprEssiVe

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
  • jolly_idiot on Sep 10, 2013 at 12:13 am

    Singapore start exploring into automotive.

    Where is our beloved proton emas? Sudah lemas?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 7
    • EMAS a.k.a P2-30A is coming next year. Not sure about CamPro Hybrid/ EV, but it’s in the works too.

      Btw, Proton sells cars in Japan as well (since 2010), with help from CUSCO. Google ‘Proton Japan’.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 3
      • frenzyaustin on Sep 10, 2013 at 10:56 am

        Only Proton Satria Neo, due to it’s good handling and customizable. But it need better engine and build quality.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • I tot emas design cannot be use anymore since proton late to trademark the design before ital..get new owner…oni bau-bau bacang based on emas

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • BLUR SOTONG on Sep 10, 2013 at 2:47 am

    Malaysia has surplus of electricity reserve , yet we are Not EV friendly :'(
    If we can’t do something good, why not give someone or company to do Great.
    EV will not cause our Nation to sink into deeper and bigger debts( fuel subsidies RM 3.3 billions). Pls take note for our lovely Caretaker of our homeland.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
    • We have everything surplus expect for our own budget. Malaysia has enough resources to generate first world standard income, but we are generating third world standard debts.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
    • “Malaysia has surplus of electricity reserve”

      let me make that much precise, “Malaysia generate highest wasted electricity percentage in Asia thanks to our beloved IPPs”

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • Wat ? U want to increase ron95 some more?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Kinda felt like a slap on our national brand – Proton

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 4
    • It is onli prototype…..some uni in boleh oso have those kind of prototype..there fund for that oso in boleh use by uni researcher n student..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • norman on Sep 10, 2013 at 11:49 am

    Its a joint control mainly ideas from German, why everytime other parties do something rakyat loves to blame the gov and proton? Are we that perfect that every little things must blame them? I hooe the current gov will built a mega mirrors in every state to reflect ourselves first ok

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 4
  • Denaihati on Sep 10, 2013 at 11:50 am

    recharged in only 15 minutes to achieve operating range of 200 km. definitely a great innovation.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • do'oh on Sep 10, 2013 at 1:23 pm

    is it proton savvy design?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Where’s our award winning Proton Range Extender?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

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