Kewet was the brand name of a

battery electric vehicle A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that exclusively uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs, ...

. Since 2007, it has been manufactured under the name

Buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) *Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...

by Elbil Norge in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. From inception in 1991 through October 2013, total combined sales of the Kewet and Buddy totaled approximately 1,500 units, mainly in Norway. It is similar to the

Citicar The CitiCar is an electric car produced from 1974 to 1977 by Sebring, Florida–based Sebring-Vanguard, Inc. After being bought out by Commuter Vehicles, Inc, Sebring-Vanguard produced the similar Comuta-Car and Comuta-Van from 1979 to 1982. Si ...

of the 1970s.

History

In 1971, Knud Erik Westergaard started KEW Industries in

Hadsund ) , image_map = Hadsund Havn fra luften..jpg , image_seal = Hadsund segl 1937.png , image_shield = Coat of arms of Hadsund.svg , pushpin_map = Denmark , pushpin_label_position = , push ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The company produced industrial washing equipment and high pressure cleaners. In 1988, this company was sold, and Westergaard founded Kewet (Knud Erik Westergaard Elektrisk Transport) to produce electric cars. In 1991, the first cars emerged from the production facilities. In 1995, production was moved to

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: * Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district **Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city * Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost ...

in the former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. But this move was unsuccessful. Kewet went bankrupt in 1998. In August 1998, Kewet International was formed. Shortly thereafter, rights to the Kewet vehicle were transferred to the Norwegian company, Kollega Bil A/S, which changed its name to Elbil Norge AS. Currently, Kewet Service provides spare parts and repairs Kewet vehicles in Denmark, while Consys develops various systems for electric vehicles.

Models

Six generations of the Kewet were produced: *Models 1 and 2 used 48 volt systems, 5 kW

motors An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...

equipped with a four-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear change ...

. *Model 3 was equipped with a 48 volt system, a 7.5 kW motor and a single-speed transmission. *Model 4 used 60 volt systems and a 10 kW motor. *Model 5 used 72 volt systems with a 12 kW motor. It was also available as a van. *Model 6 (Buddy) uses 72 volt systems with a 13 kW motor. The car seats three, has a range of typically 50 to 80 km (~31 to 50 mi) between charges (150 km/~93 mi with Li-Ion), with a top speed of 80 km/h (~49.7 MPH), and features a 1.6 kW

electric heater Electric heating is a process in which electrical energy is converted directly to heat energy at around 100% efficiency, using rather cheap devices. Common applications include space heating, cooking, water heating and industrial processes. ...

or an optional paraffin heater. The chassis is made of

galvanized Galvanization or galvanizing ( also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerged ...

steel and the shell is made of GRP.

References

External links

German Kewet Homepage

Official site (English)
{{Automotive industry in Norway Production electric cars Microcars Automotive industry in Norway Hadsund