Ice. Snow. A combination of both. None of these conditions can stop Harbinger’s electric-powered truck from moving forward safely.
Harbinger Motors, a medium-duty electric vehicle startup and TechNexus Venture Collaborative portfolio company, recently completed winter testing of its delivery truck’s handling abilities in New Zealand and released footage of its success. This marks one of the final milestones for Harbinger before the trucks are brought to market and into customers’ hands.
Even in the challenging conditions of New Zealand, the delivery truck continued to drive like a passenger car. What makes this possible is Harbinger’s unique EV chassis design. By placing the batteries within a chassis frame, the truck’s center of gravity is much lower than traditional medium-duty trucks, making it much easier to handle and allows for powerful torque.
“You have a vehicle that’s loaded to 26,000 pounds, and it actually feels smaller,” Crissy Rodriguez, principal development engineer, said in a video showcasing its winter handling. “You find that, you know, it’s pretty controllable, pretty maneuverable.”
This round of testing was specifically targeted toward the truck’s brake system and handling performance on low adherence surfaces, to prove to customers the level of stability Harbinger trucks provide. They tested for traction control, stability control, ABS and regenerative braking, ultimately delivering positive results on all fronts.
The team of testers knew that when customers are in a state of panic, there’s a chance they make sudden movements. To account for these situations, the truck underwent fast turns, sudden accelerations, decelerations, and various other avoidance maneuvers during testing. The released footage depicts how the vehicles handled these stressful situations with ease.
“When you're testing a vehicle, it’s important not only to test for the most common way the vehicle is used, but for all those edge cases,” Head of Corporate Development Michael Fielkow said. “Which means that when we do testing here in New Zealand, about 80% of the tests we do are designed around 5% of the use cases.”
Harbinger raised a $73 million Series A round from investors including TechNexus, which backed Harbinger in a joint venture with corporate partner THOR. TechNexus and THOR co-led the Series A, and TechNexus has been a close collaboration partner with both THOR and Harbinger. Last fall, THOR and Harbinger announced the launch of the world’s first hybrid RV built with Harbinger’s EV chassis.
Harbinger’s dedication to detailed testing is representative of their mission to not just expand the EV industry but create an overall improved driving experience. Delivery trucks are not exactly known for offering the smoothest ride, and even less so when driving in suboptimal conditions. However, Harbinger hopes to revolutionize this industry and what we know to be true.
“It’s incredible seeing a product go from a simple clean slate design to making it all the way to testing here, on the completely different side of the world,” Fielkow said. “But it’s even more incredible that when you bring the vehicle here, it actually performs as we plan for it to perform.”
Image credit: Harbinger Motors
Electrification • Harbinger