Polestar has had an interesting history, from its start as a motorsports team to being a Volvo performance arm to being bought by the Chinese and becoming an EV automaker. But, like automakers such as Tesla and Ford, its interest isn’t just automotive. Polestar has an interest in mobility solutions as well. Like its latest concept, the Re:Move Electric Transporter.
Described by Polestar in its press release as a way “...to spark new thinking around urban infrastructure, mobility and sustainable ways to transport goods,” the Re:Move Electric is essentially an electric cargo scooter. Polestar doesn’t describe it that way of course. It calls it a three-wheeled urban sled. Whatever.
The idea behind it is simple: The Re:Move could be used for inner city and last-mile deliveries while reducing emissions and noise levels on city streets.
Its design is the result of a collaboration between Polestar, German avant-garde industrial designer Konstantin Grcic and Swedish electric motorbike company CAKE. Grcic was its lead designer and wanted something that was strong enough to carry packages, but compact enough to fit into bike lanes.
The Re:Move is made of recyclable aluminum with a claimed 606 pound payload capacity. The design is interesting in that the rider and the handlebars sit behind the payload platform, so most of the scooter sits in the direction of travel. Grcic says in the press release that the design is interesting because its not something you usually see in vehicles:
The horizontal platform and the vertical shield is something you don’t see in vehicle design. This is how you’d build a table or a shelf. I think the simplicity and directness, the pragmatism, is nice. Good design has always been sustainable because it’s lasting. Things that have a long lifecycle are sustainable.
No details were given regarding power or range. It’s set to make its debut at SXSW on March 17 with a working version coming in the fall. Whether or not it’s actually going into production has not been addressed.
The move by Polestar to go through the motions of designing an urban EV delivery scooter is interesting. While major cities have moved away from electric scooters as a transportation alternative, using them for delivery services could be a game-changer. With the prevalence of online ordering for everything from webcams to chicken wings, cargo scooters like this for last-mile deliveries could help both lower emissions and improve traffic conditions in major cities.