I Somehow it must be the clan’s blood: Anyway, Achim Kampker is not the only inventor in the family. His father works as a civil engineer; one of two older brothers takes care of production robots Daimler , the other screwed in the service of the workshop chain Moto. And all three of them studied engineering at RWTH Aachen University. There Achim Kampker is employed today as a professor and teaches production management. Unlike his brothers, Kampker has no gas in his blood. “I’m not a car, but see it as a means of transport,” says the 35-year-old scientist, who could be considered a student, he was not in a suit.
It is all the more surprising that Kampker took up the idea of a fellow professor in the recession year of 2009 and founded a company that will soon be producing cars on a large scale, more specifically: electric cars , That’s what Streetscooter GmbH, whose CEO and founder Kampker is, is all about. Together with a dozen medium-sized suppliers as co-owners, the company is developing an affordable electric car that will cost only 5,000 euros – but without the expensive battery that will have to be leased by future customers. Kampker wants to do this with the help of a new type of production technology based on a modular system, and by doing without everything that is urgently needed, such as power windows or air conditioning.
Officially, skepticism usually prevails
The big capital does not matter to street scooters. Each of the companies involved uses their expertise in a specific area instead of money. Recently, for example, the body specialist Kirchhoff from the Sauerland. And the Dutch leasing company Athlon takes care of future sales concepts. The foam model of the Streetscooter, milled out by Schaumstoff company Zentec, has just been finished, which looks a bit like a distorted Mini and will be exhibited at the Hannover Messe in April. In addition, two prototypes will have matured by the time of the IAA auto show in autumn – one for the technology, one for the chic look. Series production, however, does not begin until 2013 in a factory owned by the Dutch Mitsubishi subsidiary Nedcar. Kampker wants to show with his project, what is possible. “There are too many thinkers in Germany and too few who simply try something and thereby advance,” he says. There is also much to lose if nothing is done: “Electric mobility could be the first field in the automotive industry, where China completely outpaces German manufacturers.”
All the more is Kampker surprised that most experts praise his project only in private. Officially, skepticism usually prevails. Only after the public discussions many colleagues or competitors showed their enthusiasm for the project of an affordable electric car for everyone. Kampker tries to promote initiative for his students. “Nobody should wait for the help of the state in the form of purchase premiums or research funds – certainly not the auto industry.”
“We have deliberately renounced cooperation with major manufacturers”
To learn as quickly as possible, Kampker has gained a selection of electric vehicles from competing manufacturers, which he drives regularly. “Windows or a music system do not necessarily have to be. But if the car does not drive faster than 40 kilometers per hour on a slope, or if the range achievable with the battery fluctuates constantly, that bothers a lot. “In its development work, Kampker wants to continue without the support of Volkswagen, Daimler or BMW. “We have deliberately renounced cooperation with major automakers in order to break up structures.” Corporate thinking has been too slow to find the best solutions for a cheap electric car in a network of equal partners. The goal is to bring together the technically feasible and the economic efficiency.
Believing the promising forecasts for electric mobility, then the business success of the street scooter is programmed: In the conurbations of New York, Shanghai and Paris to establish the opinion of the consulting firm McKinsey electric and hybrid vehicles already by 2015 as a realistic alternative to cars with conventional combustion engine. In Germany alone, according to the will of the Federal Government, one million Stromers are expected to hit the streets by 2020. By the end of 2010, there were not even 2,000 electric vehicles. No wonder: despite full-bodied announcements of the automaker, there are only a few electric vehicles to buy, at prices from 35 000 euros. “The revolution,” says Kampker, “must come from the middle class.”