November 23, 2011
LOS ANGELES – Croatian industrialist Vjekoslav Majetic comes to the auto show here to see if his XD electric dream car with wing-like doors takes wing with American consumers – and investors.
Majetic, CEO of DOK-ING, a manufacturer of remotely controlled robotic systems used for clearing land mines, fighting fires and mining for ores, is the visionary behind the XD, the first EV from Croatia.
Doking Automotiv CEO Vjekoslav Majetic with XD prototype at L.A. auto show.
A prototype XD, introduced here as the first in a line of “premium urban electric vehicles,” was developed by Doking Automotiv, an offshoot of DOK-ING. It is slated for delivery next year to Europe, where it will be priced at about $100,000.
The EV has an aluminum chassis and carbon-fiber skin lined with Kevlar; either two or four 45 kw (60-hp) electric motors that Majetic asserts can jump from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.2 seconds; and a 108-in. (274-cm) body that seats the driver in the middle front and two passengers in the back, on either side of the driver.
The power system consists of Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery packs that provide a total driving range of about 150 miles (242 km) and are managed by an integrated monitoring system that goes into “sleep” mode, but otherwise doesn’t shut off.
Battery-recharging times range from about three to eight hours, depending on the power source.
The XD offers a fully digital instrument cluster that can be personalized to an individual driver’s preferences, says Tomislav Bosko, general manager-Doking Automotiv.
The vehicle’s infotainment system can access a wide variety of applications and sync car functions to a personal computer, laptop or smartphone.
Doking seeks to create a ride that’s “fun, sporty, chic – a gadget on wheels,” says Bosko.
“We want to open a new market for a small city car, made with top materials.”
Majetic remembers his awareness of traffic in his home city of Zagreb, Croatia, against which L.A.’s congestion pales in comparison, took root when he was a boy.
But it was only after he had established himself professionally, and purchased a BMW X5 that proved far too large to park easily in Zagreb’s downtown, that he set out to develop what eventually became the XD.
“We are from a country that has no car industry,” says Majetic, but Doking’s XD “is a high-level small car” that balances space with luxury.
Doking hopes to sell 1,000 XDs in Europe next year, while customers in India already have ordered up to 30,000 of the all-electric units, says Majetic.
Mass production and sales of the car in the U.S. are part of Doking’s long-term agenda, but the auto maker’s initial plans include distributing a small group of XDs as market-testers and producing customized units delivered on-demand.
The vehicle’s ultimate success, says Bosko, depends on customers’ willingness “to adapt to new things.”
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