MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe

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MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe

11 pictures

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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The e-Schwalbe – conceived by committed enthusiasts, built in modern halls at a historical site in Suhl, Thuringia.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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2/11
Here, the head of development, Dr. Andreas Leich the e-swallow.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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3/11
If you look closely and feel, you will recognize the most important differences: plastic body instead of sheet metal, telescopic fork instead of pushed short swing arm, disc brakes instead of brake drums.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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The batteries have the size of a briefcase and weigh around ten kilograms.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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There is space for up to three lithium-ion batteries in the doorway of the e-Schwalbe.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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The motor of the e-Schwalbe delivers between 5.4 and almost 11 hp, depending on the equipment.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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efw-Suhl e-Schwalbe with classic ox-eye turn signals.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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A low-maintenance toothed belt drive replaces the chain of yore.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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9/11
The e-Schwalbe has a solid luggage rack with an adjustable strap. The glove compartment of the e-Schwalbe has a USB port for cell phones and MP3 players.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
Blacksmith

10/11
The e-Schwalbe drives on 16-inch vehicles from Heidenau as it used to, but decelerates in keeping with the times thanks to hydraulically operated disc brakes.

MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe
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The swallow – here the original with a combustion engine.

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MOTORRAD interview with the makers of the Elektro-Schwalbe

The swallow is flying again
Interview with the makers of the e-Schwalbe

MOTORRAD spoke to the makers of the new e-Schwalbe, the two managing partners of efw-Suhl, Daniel Schmid and Thomas Martin and the development manager Dr. Andreas Leich.

Thomas Schmieder

09/20/2011

MOTORRAD: How did the idea of ​​the e-Schwalbe come about??

Thomas Martin: The project was initiated in 2009 by Entega, a provider of green electricity. This company had already tested the everyday use of electric scooters in large-scale trials. However, they were not satisfied with the technical standard of the vehicles, especially driving stability and range were in need of improvement. The renowned automotive supplier Xtronic from Baden-Wurttemberg was brought in as a technical consultant.

Daniel Schmid: Dr. Leich and I came up with the idea of ​​reviving the cult scooter Schwalbe instead of existing e-vehicles. Because Entega stands for cleanly generated electricity, an internal combustion engine was out of the question. We wanted to combine e-mobility with a sexy factor: tradition as the icing on the cake. Well-made retro style can be really popular, as the Mini and Fiat 500 cars prove. The emotionality comes from the look alone.

MOTORCYCLE: But with all the love, the e-Schwalbe is significantly more expensive than conventional scooters.

Dr. Andreas Leich: But only in terms of the pure purchase price. Due to the low energy consumption of the e-Schwalbe, the pure electricity costs are only around 75 cents per 100 kilometers. Maintenance costs are also low. Including the costs for the batteries, 100 kilometers only cost around three euros, with a combustion engine it is easily five euros. And batteries will become cheaper in the long term, while gasoline prices will rise.

Thomas Martin: In addition, the e-Schwalbe is a high-quality German quality product from a small, ISO 9001-certified manufacturer: Die efw-Suhl GmbH was founded in September 2010. Our scooter is designed to be durable, with an average service life of around 12 years. And for us, environmentally friendly vehicles also include clean production. That is why we avoid Chinese suppliers and compensate for the CO2 that occurs during production – including the individual components – by planting trees in Canada.

MOTORCYCLE: Shouldn’t the e-Schwalbe start selling in 2011??

Dr. Andreas Leich: The market launch was delayed for three reasons. On the one hand, we rely on European suppliers. However, they were hit particularly hard by the economic crisis in 2009, which made orders and agreements difficult. On the other hand, powerful electric motors need the metals “Rare Earth”, like neodynium for the permanent magnet. Their prices tripled in 2011. We have therefore redesigned the motor so that it uses 40 percent less neodynium. The real bottleneck is the semiconductors required for the control units: The tsunami in Japan washed away entire factories so that the components cannot be accessed.

MOTORCYCLE: If the new Schwalbe hadn’t had a sheet metal body like its ancestor?

Daniel Schmid: Metal would have caused even more tool costs and increased weight. In addition, painting and possibly also full galvanizing would have been necessary, which would have increased the price. We have therefore opted for solid-colored plastic that is not very scratch-sensitive.

MOTORRAD: How should distribution and sales start?

Daniel Schmid: Because Entega is on board, we have a lot of staying power financially. We want to start series production in December 2011 and are aiming for 1000 vehicles in the first year.

Thomas Martin: If nothing else comes up, we’ll be in the market at the beginning of 2012. Talks are ongoing with interested dealers, and we are approaching them nationwide. Although we can only offer test drives from spring 2012, there is already a database of potential customers. The response is great, we take reservations at www.e-Schwalbe.de – from people who are then also given priority. The nearest e-Schwalbe dealer can soon be found using the dealer search.

Dr. Andreas Leich: When you buy an e-Schwalbe, you can choose to include an Entega green electricity contract with special conditions. But the sale is not exclusively linked to it. You can also run our product on nuclear power, even if we don’t like that.

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