A brand new firm out of Japan known as HW Electro needs to be the primary producer of electrical automobiles within the nation’s hotly contested industrial kei automotive phase. Its first idea, the Puzzle, is a battery-electric van that conforms to Japan’s strict kei automotive specs. In contrast to most different kei automotive makers, nonetheless, HW Electro hopes to carry the Puzzle to North America.
The van debuted on the Japan Mobility Present in October, then got here to New York for a publicity shoot. The corporate is making it explicitly clear that it has plans for U.S. gross sales, even spending a while driving round NY city streets as a part of a promotional video.
Aside from a pleasant robotic face there are few design prospers. Like many kei vehicles, the Puzzle maximizes inside house by using utterly flat sides. It places them to good use as effectively, because the roof doubles as a big photo voltaic panel. A lot of the easy exterior panels are swappable for various coloration combos, probably totally different supplies, and for ease of restore. That, and the truth that the inside has pegboard-like holes for modular configurability, are the place the Puzzle will get its title from.
HW Electro intends to deploy the Puzzle into catastrophe zones the place infrastructure may be incapacitated. The vertical panels beneath the A-pillar disguise a number of 100v AC and USB retailers, in addition to a charging port and first-aid kits. A big crowbar resides in a rear storage compartment.
Few particulars got, however Auto Evolution stories a lithium iron phosphate battery that gives a 125-mile vary. Conforming to kei automotive spec, the Puzzle measures not more than 134 inches lengthy, 58.3 inches vast, and 78.7 inches excessive. That is nearly two ft shorter than a first-gen Scion xB.
The Puzzle prototype at present solely has two seats. One hiccup that HW Electro might encounter is the decades-old hen tax that imposes a 25% tariff on gentle industrial vans. Autos just like the Ford Transit Join circumvented the foundations by putting in simply detachable seats to the cargo space, thus classifying it as a passenger car. It is also the rationale why Toyota, Nissan, and different Japanese truckmakers have constructed factories within the U.S. To reach the states, HW Electro might should make use of considered one of these methods, however in any other case it seems like a well-designed and useful little runabout.