Imagine a Lego-like system for building small electric cars. Instead of one expensive, heavy vehicle, you get a set of interchangeable parts like swappable batteries and solar roofs that can be mixed and matched. This makes it possible to build cheap, green transport that fits the specific needs of a city in Europe or a village in Africa.
Current electric urban vehicles are either too basic (niche L-category) or too expensive and overengineered (M- and N1-category). This creates a gap for affordable, versatile, and sustainable transport in both developed and emerging cities.
A modular e-driveline architecture including swappable 48V batteries, solar charging kits, a unified control system, and a vehicle configuration tool for 3rd party designers.
If you are a fleet operator dealing with high costs of oversized delivery vans — this project developed a modular L-category platform that provides right-sized, zero-emission vehicles. This reduces the cost of ownership and improves urban air quality.
If you are a manufacturer dealing with the high cost of developing new models from scratch — this project developed a vehicle configuration tool and standardized 'technology bricks'. This allows you to design mission-tailored vehicles for different markets without overengineering.
If you are a provider dealing with limited integration options for vehicle charging — this project developed solar-supported charging kits and a 48 V battery system. This enables vehicles to be more energy-efficient and less dependent on the grid.
The project uses a 'frugal' design approach and modular technology bricks to avoid overengineering common in M- and N1-vehicles. This lowers production costs and the overall cost of ownership.
Yes, the platform is designed for local manufacturability to strengthen regional value chains. The project estimates a potential market of 1.5 million vehicles sold annually from 2028 onwards.
The project provides a vehicle configuration tool that enables 3rd parties to design their own vehicles based on the GIANTS platform.
Based on available project data, the platform is specifically tailored for L-type vehicles (L5, L6, and L7) and is validated for use in both advanced and emerging markets.
The project runs until June 2027, with a projected market impact of 1.5 million vehicles annually starting from 2028.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with 11 industrial partners and 12 SMEs, representing 48% of the total 23 partners. This strong commercial presence, spanning 11 countries including emerging markets like Kenya and the Philippines, suggests a high focus on practical market entry and regional manufacturing rather than pure academic research.
Contact Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH in Austria for platform licensing and configuration tool access.
Request a technical deep-dive into the GIANTS modular architecture.
