LSEV To Be First Mass Produced 3D Printed Car

LSEV certainly isn't the first automaker to use 3D printing to build its vehicle. Local Motors has been 3D printing cars for a while now. However, those Local Motors 3D printed cars are made in small batches. LSEV has laid claim to the title of first mass-producible 3D printed electric car in the world.

The car is expected to enter production in Q2 2019 and the first glimpse of the car came at a press conference held at the China 3D-Printing Cultural Museum in Shanghai. The LSEV comes from a partnership between Polymaker, a Chinese 3D printing company and an Italian electric car maker called XEV.

Polymaker says that all the visible parts of the car save the chassis, seats, and glass are 3D printed. The number of separate parts on the car is only 57, presumably not counting the drive train. The complete vehicles very lightweight tipping the scales at only 992 pounds.

The R&D phase of LSEV development was shortened considerably thanks to the 3D printing. XEV says that the R&D phase can be completed in 3-12 months compared to the 3-5 years required for a normal car. XEV claims to have strong interest with 7,000 orders for the car.

5,000 of those orders are from Poste Italiane, the Italian postal services provider. The other 2,000 of those orders are from vehicle leasing company ARVAL. The car will be priced from $7,500 and have a 43 mph top speed with a driving range of 93 miles per charge.

SOURCE: New Atlas