SEAT Minimó general discussion

[Syphon]

Thoughts? Comments?

https://www.seatcupra.net/index.php/2019/02/25/seat-minimo-all-electric-city-mobility-car-revealed/

 

[niallain]

17 inch wheels seem absolutely massive. The only competitor to this I can think of is the Renault Twizy and that has 13inch wheels.

I must say the swappable batteries are a great idea. I wonder how much an extra battery pack would cost though, surely they can also develop a "dock" so you can charge one battery at home whilst driving around in the other.

 

[Jimbobcook]

I think the idea is good, i'm not sure it has a place in the UK yet...

Also how heavy are those battery cells, I bet it would be difficult for someone of the older generation to bend down that far and take them out (going on the basis of UPS batteries these days in my job)

Like the upward opening doors and it looks comfortable.

It's a bold move putting all the money in for the design and research for this, hope it pays off...

Like above they need to be bringing out a dock for the batteries for easy charging etc.

 

[The Daily Meme]

We have a couple of Renault Twizzies in our office for staff to take in to town. They are great for nipping in and out as their range is only 40-60 miles on a single charge. They aren't weatherprrof though.

 

[Deleted member 120738]

Do you supporters of electric vehicles realise that the cobalt for the batteries is mined in African countries - the Congo, Ruanda, using children as young as 5 and the mines are all owned by the Chinese...not really acceptable is it!

 

[rdhma]

60% of Cobalt comes from the DRC. Russia, Australia and Canada are the next largest producers.
Work to reduce the cobalt content in batteries is ongoing but is proving difficult.
Laptops, phones, tablets, pretty much all portable electronics use lithium batteries containing cobalt.
Cobalt is also used for desulpherisation in oil refining, so it's not like combustion engined vehicles are cobalt-free.

Rather than depriving an underdeveloped country of a valuable source of income, surely it makes sense to demand that conditions are improved? Some companies are a lot better than others at auditing their supply chain.
Amnesty International's plan of action is:

Extraction: Mapping supply chains of key minerals, calling for human rights impacts to be identified, prevented and addressed, and calling for a prohibition on commercial deep-sea mining;

Manufacturing: Calling for carbon footprints to be properly disclosed, minimised, and offset; and for rights to and at work, including health, equality and non-discrimination, to be legally protected and enforced;

Re-use and recovery: Calling for products to be designed and regulated so that their potential for re-use is optimised and waste is penalized; and illegal or dangerous exportation and dumping of batteries is prevented.

 

[seat-mo]

I'm looking forward to this, it feels as if it would be ideal for someone looking to make the steady transition from using public transport. I calculate my annual mileage to remain below 5k of local driving. Any thoughts on price? (or what it's really worth)... and ease/difficulty of maintenance?

 

[Seastormer]

I'd rather get the bus, even with a facemask on

 

[CupraCraig]

Has there been any update on this?
I’m in the market for something quirky to supplement the Formentor, and something like this might fit the bill.
Haven’t heard anything about it for an age though, wonder if Covid has killed it.

 

[Syphon]

Has there been any update on this?
I’m in the market for something quirky to supplement the Formentor, and something like this might fit the bill.
Haven’t heard anything about it for an age though, wonder if Covid has killed it.

Not heard much, will post when we hear any more.