The Stellantis concern, which owns many well-known car brands, presented the STLA Medium platform. It was created for electric cars and will allow for a range of up to 700 km. Needless to say, it looks really promising.
Electric cars with good range
Of course, the Stellantis portfolio already includes electric cars, but in the case of Opel Astra or Jeep Avenger , we are dealing with cars that have a lot in common with their combustion counterparts – they are internal combustion engines converted to electric. Yes, they are quite good BEVs, but it should be noted that in terms of range they cannot compete with really strong opponents, such as e.g. Tesla or cars of some Chinese brands.
Stellantis, however, is preparing a strong hit in the C and D segment. The STLA Medium platform is to attract customers. It should be mentioned here that the representative of the C segment is, for example, the Opel Astra, and the D segment is already Tesla Model 3 or BMW i4 . The new platform will be built on cars of various brands belonging to the concern and it is to be used in the case of sedans, crossovers and SUVs.
Cars built on the STLA Medium are to offer over 500 km of range with the standard package or over 700 km with the Performance pack (98 kWh battery). In both cases, we are talking about range according to the WLTP test procedure. Even if the real range will be smaller, we can still expect really good results.
There will be a 400-volt electrical architecture on board, which is the same as, for example, in the BMW i7 . Stellantis adds that energy consumption can be as low as 14 kWh per 100 km, which is definitely a great result. On the other hand, users will be able to charge the battery from 20% to 80% in 27 minutes, i.e. at a charging speed of 2.4 kWh per minute.
Body types will include sedans, crossovers and SUVs. The flexibility of STLA Medium gives designers the freedom to create vehicles with:
- wheelbase, which can be from 2700 to 2900 millimeters,
- total length of 4.3-4.9 meters,
- ground clearance of over 220 mm to guarantee off-road capability,
- wheels with a diameter of up to 750 mm, which is a key attribute of the platform design.
Optional four-wheel drive
The new platform allows you to build cars with only front-wheel or four-wheel drive. In the second case, the drive will be carried out using two electric motors – the first at the front, the second at the rear of the car. According to Stellantis , the power output is to be between 160 (~217 hp) and 285 kW (~387 hp).
It is also worth mentioning that the platform components, such as the cabin heating/air conditioning system, steering, braking and drive system, have been designed to reduce energy consumption to a minimum. One of the first cars based on the new platform will be the Peugeot e-3008, which is to be presented later this year.