Israel is famous for its military forces. This time around, the country’s emergency response team has made its way to the headlines for incorporating foldable electric vehicle in its fleet. Yes! You read it absolutely right. Israel’s emergency response team – United Hatzalah, will be adding electric vehicles from a country’s local startup – City Transformers. The EV maker has designed the CT-1, which can shrink in size when required to fit in tight parking spaces. The United Hatzalah will be the largest client for the City Transformers’ CT-1 foldable urban electric vehicle.
Talking about City Transformers, it was founded back in 2014. The startup has now introduced its foldable electric car that measures 2.49 meters in length and 1.45 meters in width. It comes with a patented mechanism that reduces the overall width of the vehicle to just 0.99 meters. While the vehicle’s width reduces, no change is seen inside the cabin. With the reduced width, CT-1 can manoeuvre tight parking spaces, narrow streets, and traffic-jammed roads with ease. Inside, the CT-1 offers two seats, fixed in tandem, one behind another. If required, the passenger seat can house two child seats as well.
The emergency response team has made a deal worth $22 million with City Transformers. The five-year deal will unwind in steps. In the initial years, trials are lined up, followed by the delivery of 50 CT-1 vehicles. Once the company establishes a sustainable mass-production scheme, 1000 units of the CT01 will be built for United Hatzalah. The CT-1 can do speeds of up to 45 kmph in its narrow avatar, and it doubles up to 90 kmph when it is at its complete width, and it has a range of 100-150 km on a single charge. The pre-order price is fixed at €12,500 (Rs. 10.91 lakh), and it is available in a total of four colour options – white, blue, grey, and red.
