Kewet
Encyclopedia
Battery electric vehicle
A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...
. Since 2007, it has been manufactured under the name Buddy
Buddy (electric car)
Buddy is a Norwegian electric car, produced by Pure Mobility, formerly Elbil Norge AS, at Økern in Oslo. In 2007, the Buddy, and its predecessor, the Kewet, made up 20% of the electric cars in Norway.-History:...
by ElbilNorge AS in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
History
In 1971 Knud Erik Westergaard started KEW Industries in HadsundHadsund
Hadsund is a town with a population of 5,040 in Mariagerfjord municipality, Region Nordjylland on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The company produced industrial washing equipment and high pressure cleaners. In 1988 this company was sold, and Westergaard founded Kewet to produce electric cars. In 1991 the first cars emerged from the production facilities. In 1995 production was moved to Nordhausen
Nordhausen
Nordhausen is a town at the southern edge of the Harz Mountains, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Nordhausen...
in the former East Germany. But this move was unsuccessful. Kewet went bankrupt in 1998. In August 1998 Kewet International was formed. Shortly thereafter, rights to the Kewet vehicle were transferred to the Norwegian company, Kollega Bil A/S, which changed its name to Elbil Norge AS. Currently, Kewet Service provides spare parts and repairs Kewet vehicles in Denmark, while Consys develops various systems for electric vehicles.
Models
Six generations of the Kewet have been produced:- Models 1 and 2 used 48 volt systems, 5 kW motors equipped with a four-speed manual transmission.
- Model 3 was equipped with a 48 volt system, a 7.5 kW motor and a single-speed transmission.
- Model 4 used 60 volt systems and a 10 kW motor.
- Model 5 used 72 volt systems with a 12 kW motor. It was also available as a van.
- Model 6 (Buddy) uses 72 volt systems with a 13 kW motor.
The car seats three, has a range of typically 50 to 80 km (~31 to 50 mi) between charges (150 km/~93 mi with Li-Ion), with a top speed of 80 km/h (~49.7 MPH), and features a 1.6 KW electric heater or an optional paraffin heater. The chassis is made of galvanized steel and the shell is made of GRP
Glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
. At the present time, it is only being offered for sale in Norway.