With the worldwide rise in demand for smaller, less gas intensive vehicles, companies are seeking to create vehicles with a smaller environmental footprint that still permit maximum operation, safety, and comfort for their drivers. Small vehicle development has picked up a lot of ground, with a wide variety of products constantly flowing into the market. They are of course not all created equal. Many suffer from shortcomings in terms of charge, range, and stability. Some even suffer from a deficient visual appeal. Mostly, such brands have also been limited by the distribution area.
That tide has begun to change, however. At the forefront of expanding not only visually and operationally, but also geographically, Swiss company Qooder (formally known as Quadro) has brought their Qooder product across the pond to be marketed and sold in the continental United States.
The Qooder
Qooder has been such a momentous achievement by the company that they have decided to shift their brand name to back the world’s first four-wheeled street vehicle with the ability to successfully tilt without sacrificing balance. Tilting, of course, is not something commonly associated with a four-wheel vehicle. It is rather an act reserved for motorcycles. The Qooder finds a fine balance between the stability of a small car and the maneuverability of a motorcycle.
The company decided to establish a local subsidiary in the United States back in 2019, aiming to introduce their product to US industry professionals, as well as to put their product’s name and company’s story out hoping to garner the attention of distribution partners.
In 2020, Qooder would not let the cancellation of the Geneva International Motor Show, due to the pandemic, stop them. The company instead performed a virtual presentation of their electronic product on their social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn) in order to continue their massive initiative aimed at a global product distribution launch.
The Specifications
The Qooder runs on a single-cylinder, 4 valve engine with a maximum power of 23.8 kW/32.5 horsepower, with a 5000 tpm torque. While the vehicle is ultimately powered by gasoline (with a 3.69 gallon/14-liter tank), its ignition is electronic. The unit is 53.54 inches (1360 mm) high to the top of its windshield and 86.61 inches (2350 mm) long. It possesses a respectable weight-bearing capacity of 1,058.22 lbs (480kg) including the weight of a rider and passenger, as well as their luggage and belongings.
Of course where the Qooder truly thrives is in maneuvering around tighter spaces due to its design of being slimmer than a traditional car, but also its exceptionally balanced tilt ability. The front and rear, fully independent hydro-pneumatic suspension Hydraulic Tilting System permits the wheels to better hug and bend to curvatures of roads. With each wheel being worked at independently, the traction of the Qooder is superb when compared to that of a traditional motorcycle. The suspension systems allow the Qooder to have great stability even when taking turns, along with the ability to drift, ride over road imperfections with minimal impact to the rider, and performing ‘doughnuts’. In a sense, these are features more closely linked to that of a dirt bike. In that same sense, the Qooder has handling, four wheel safety, and performance superior to other semi-electric vehicles of its sort
The braking system is versatile too, with the right lever initiating front-wheel brakes, while the left lever and pedal controlling all-wheel braking. All of the rotors are lined with hoses formed from steel-braids. There is even a small handle on the right seat that serves the purpose of a handbrake when the Qooder is parked on a sloped surface.
It also comes with a front windscreen that might be a bit short for taller riders but is more than sufficient for most of the average height. A new variant of the product, Qooder reported, will be offered with a roof for those riders who prefer coverage over their heads.
The Qooder dashboard presents the rider with the pivotal information including a tachometer, a rev counter, and other various computer trip information. There are additional compartments with a USB port and a 12V for convenience.
Purchasing
The Qooder stars at €11,490 at the company’s online store and is available in raw black, titanium grey, snow-white, ceresio blue, and swiss red color options. Optional accessories include two various top-case attachments, as well as an adjustable windshield. The registration of the vehicle is an additional €450, and the preparation charge tacks on another €125.
The company is additionally developing a fully electric vehicle called the eQooder which will likely also warrant market attention in an increasingly ‘green’ leaning world.
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
- Log in to post comments