World’s first electric Hummer

Arnold Schwarzenegger is among one of the big-name backer to the start-up, who had previously hired Kreisel Electric for adding electric drivetrain to his Mercedes G-class offroader.

“Kreisel Electric electrified my G-class last winter. And now a Hummer. If Kreisel keeps it up at this pace, I will soon be able to fly here from LA in an electric airplane,” said Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has acted as one of the early backers to the start-up.

The Austrian start-up was founded by three brothers – Markus Kreisel, Philipp Kreisel, and Johann Kreisel, and started operations in a small garage, and started working on developing electric power-trains that could be fitted on any traditional cars. The new facility will have annual capacity to produce 8,000 battery packs for cars, home-storage and aviation. The facility will produce and develop prototypes for carmakers and other industries. The site will help to develop new techniques for mass-market manufacturing of their solutions.

The brothers developed the off-road prototype on the basis of the H1 model in a span of two months. Equipped with high-performance batteries from Kreisel Electric that features a 100 kWh capacity and two electric motors on the front and back axles, a system output of 360 kW (490 PS). The vehicle can reach speeds of up to 120 kmph and has a range of about 300 kilometers and weighs 3,300 kg.

In context the standard version of the American off-road vehicle consumes up to 24 liters of fuel for every 100 kilometers and emits up to 470g CO2 per kilometer. “With our electrified prototypes, we want to show what is possible using Kreisel technology. We will certainly not mass-produce these models. But our Hummer is a powerhouse in wolf’s clothing, one that drives so quietly even the sheep are not disturbed,” said Markus Kreisel, co-founder and CEO, Kreisel Electric.

Recently, Dassault Systemes had announced that the start-up had selected the 3DEXPERIENCE platform of Dassault to accelerate its business growth as industrial automotive partners increasingly seek its innovative battery systems and electric drivetrain solutions.

“OEMs and tier one suppliers look to us for innovation, and we must be able to deliver on their needs while aiming to grow from a young, 70-person company founded by three brothers into a highly efficient international supplier with a fast-growing number of employees,” said Kreisel. “Through the use of Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, we can start procurement processes earlier. This has already reduced time spent on engineering processes by one to two months.”

“The automotive industry is undergoing a seismic shift due to disruptive startups and commitments from governments and established manufacturers to privilege electric and hybrid vehicles in the next few decades,” said Olivier Sappin, VP, Transportation & Mobility Industry, Dassault Systemes. “The 3DEXPERIENCE platform brings value to startups like Kreisel Electric, which can accelerate their role in this shift by imagining new vehicle concepts and validating feasibility faster. This facilitates long-term growth as electric vehicle adoption advances.”

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