Izera (company)

Izera - polish Electric car manufacturer based in Warsaw, operating since 2020. The brand is owned by the Polish company ElectroMobility Poland.
== History ==
=== Origins ===
On 19 October 2016, a joint-stock company, ElectroMobility Poland, was inaugurated with the aim of building electric cars of Polish manufacture and design. The initiative was backed by state-owned energy companies Energa SA, Enea, Tauron Polska, and PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, as well as the National Centre for Nuclear Research. Less than a year later, on 12 September 2017, four winning designs for the potential design of future vehicles produced by the company were selected, while in March 2019 it was announced that construction work on the first vehicles would take another 40 months. In September of the same year, a planned production start date of 2022 or 2023 for Polish electric cars was announced.
In February 2020, the CEO of ElectroMobility Poland, Piotr Zaremba, indicated that work on virtual prototypes had been completed, with the official launch of both the first two prototypes as well as the logo and brand of the Polish electric cars announced on 26 June of the same year.
=== Izera ===
The official presentation of the Izera brand took place on 28 July 2020 during a conference that was streamed online on Facebook. The presentation included both the presentation of the previously unknown brand name and logo, as well as two pre-production Electric car prototypes.
The brand name is derived from the Jizera (river) - a river flowing through Poland and the Czech Republic, one of the tributaries of the Elbe. Representatives of the company also emphasised that the chosen name is easy to remember and pronounce also for people outside Poland, as the company plans to sell not only on the domestic market but also on foreign markets in the future.
The brand's advertising slogan is "A million reasons to drive further". The logo of Izera consists of two parts: in the middle is a stylised compass needle to signify that the brand follows its own path, consistently pursues its goal, and sets new directions. On the outside, there is a hexagon to emphasise modern technology and engineering craftsmanship. The hexagon is split in two to resemble the arms surrounding the mark, which is meant to signify care and safety.
The German company EDAG Engineering has become the technical integrator of the brand's cars. The Italian studio Torino Design is responsible for the styling of the new cars, and the design consultant is Tadeusz Jelec, a long-time designer for the Jaguar Cars. The president of the company responsible for Izera is Piotr Zaremba, formerly, among others, project manager for electromobility at the Ministry of Energy and chief specialist in the department of innovation and industrial development at the Ministry of Economy.
At the time of the presentation of the Izera brand in July 2019, the subject of the future factory was also raised - it was indicated that it would be built in the Silesian Voivodeship - tentatively indicating Jaworzno, unofficially also Ruda Śląska - and its launch is expected to create around 3,000 additional jobs (and around 15,000 for sub-suppliers). The establishment of the factory and production lines was then planned for 2021, while series production was to start in Q3 2023. In the first year of production, 60,000 cars are expected to be produced, with this figure rising to 100,000 units per year over time.
Until the presentation of the prototype models, ElectroMobility Poland has allocated approximately PLN 35 million for development activities to date. The costs created by the construction of the factory, the introduction to production and sale of the first vehicles, as well as promotion and servicing, are estimated at PLN 5 billion. ElectroMobility Poland intends to distribute cars without a dealer network, following the example of Tesla, Inc.|Tesla Inc.
=== First vehicles ===
Izera's first two cars were named the T100 and the Z100. The T100 was a compact hatchback in running, pre-production form with a finished design for the passenger compartment and drivetrain, while the Z100 was a similarly sized Sport utility vehicle which, at the time of presentation, was just a clay shell foreshadowing the body shape of a future vehicle.
The manufacturer announces that its vehicles are to be affordable. The cost of purchasing an Izera is expected to be lower than that of a traditional car with an internal combustion engine. The long wheelbase of both models is expected to ensure adequate spaciousness of the rear row of seats, while the passenger compartment itself has been equipped with functionalities such as child restraints, an inductive charger, and 4 ISOFIX mountings . During the presentation, the manufacturer indicated that an instalment system will be available in addition to the usual cash purchase, in order to keep the overall cost of the car more attractive than combustion cars of a comparable class.
The equipment of the Izera vehicles is also expected to include, among other things: a heated steering wheel with programmable buttons, an adjustable energy recuperation mode, two colour displays, including one touchscreen centrally located on the dashboard, virtual customisable gauges, and automatic air conditioning. In terms of safety systems, the cars are to be equipped with, among other things: Electronic stability control|ESC (stability control system), FCW (forward collision warning system), BSW (blind spot detection system), and TSR (traffic sign detection system). Equipped with a range of driver assistance systems, the Izera cars are expected to provide Level 2 automation (ADAS Level 2), which under certain conditions means that speed and lane control can be performed simultaneously.
=== Development plans ===
At the time of the presentation, ElectroMobility Poland did not indicate the detailed technical parameters of the vehicles, indicating only the planned battery capacity: 40 or 60 kWh, as well as the range (about 400 km), acceleration to 100 km/h (less than 8 seconds), and a top speed of about 160 km/h. Components such as the platform, battery pack and engines are to be provided by a foreign supplier, together with licences allowing modification of components. At the time of Izera's launch, the manufacturer revealed that it was in negotiations with two potential suppliers of technical components. Ultimately, up to 60% of the car's parts are to come from domestic production. Company representatives are satisfied with the cost level achieved, which is expected to allow the cars to maintain their assumed price level. In the following years of Izera's operation on the market, its offer is to be extended by further vehicles, the number of which is to reach 5 different designs.
=== Factory ===
In mid-December 2020, the CEO of ElectroMobility Poland announced that the construction of the first production facilities for Izera cars will start in the third quarter of 2021, with Jaworzno in the Silesian Voivodeship|Silesian Voivodeship chosen as the location. Construction is expected to take approximately two years, allowing for the start of series production of vehicles later than originally planned - not in the third quarter of 2023, but the first of 2024. At the beginning of August 2021, the State Treasury signed an agreement with the parent towards Izera, ElectroMobility Poland, re-capitalising the company's shares in the amount of PLN 250 million. The transaction is expected to liquidate the preparatory work related to the construction of the Izera factory in Jaworzno.
=== Platform and plan review ===
In the second half of November 2022, ElectroMobility Poland, which manages the Izera brand, officially announced the supplier of the platform for the first series model, which will ultimately be a development of the 2020 T100 prototype. The company has signed a $6 billion contract with Chinese automotive conglomerate Geely, which will deliver the modular Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform used to build such conglomerate models as the Smart 1|Smart 1 and Zeekr 001|Zeekr 001. The mass deployment process for the Izera T100 has been set at around PLN 6 billion, with the production of the first units expected to start a year later than expected - in the fourth quarter of 2025.
== Models ==
* Izera T100 (2020)
* Izera Z100 (2020)
Category:Automotive industry
Category:Electric vehicle manufacturers
Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2020
Category:Companies based in Warsaw