The Xbus Is Cute as a Button, Tough as Nails, and Electric

Remember eBussy? The German start-up created van? Well now it’s called the Xbus, probably because eBussy is, let’s just say an awkward name. Name aside, and besides it being absolutely darling, the little electric van had, and has, a very cool trick up its sleeve—modularity. The vehicle rides around on an chassis powered by an electric motor that can be a van, a box truck, a flat-bed truck, maybe even a cabover, if we’re not mistaken.

And now, a year after announcing what they were up to, ElectricBrands, the company behind the Xbus has revealed its camper prototype. All-wheel-drive, small footprint, and electric. We dig.

There’s a pop-top above the kitchen area for full-on standing. Wings that unfold to add more counter space. The sleeping area can pull out a bit from the main cab to add length. There’s solar on the roof to extend battery life. Oh — and as for the battery, there is a kind of battery tray so you can swap out a depleted battery for a fresh one. This is an interesting feature that, if widely adopted by automakers and with a whole bunch of logistical kinks worked out, could solve lots of issues with range anxiety and recharging. Pull up to a battery station, change out batteries, off you go. Probably fanciful future things, but fin to think about. For now, however, this little van can get up to 370 miles on a charge with the biggest available battery, says ElectricBrands.

 

Of course, it’s merely a prototype. You can reserve one in Europe at the moment, but not in the USA, though the company is planning to make it available here too at some point. Price is listed at about $33k for the off-road chassis version of this thing, which at this point is dirt cheap.

Please bring this here. Please.