Russian self-made billionaire and once an officially registered presidential candidate, 46-year-old, 6’7” bachelor Mikhail Prokhorov, also well known as the owner of the NBA Team – New Jersey Nets, has a new exciting project he and his company ONEXIM working on – it’s a so-called ‘City Car’ – the official brand name is ёМобиль (Yo-Mobile) – Electro-Mobile based on Russian Technology, and made almost solely from Russian components.
Technical solutions, which formed the basis of the car, helped to create a common platform for all models, which can be easily applied to cars for various purposes. Versatile platform allows implementing any design up to the totally futuristic looking vehicles. Like this one below that most likely will never be mass-produced.
In the first stage it was decided to stick to more conventional car design. So, the first “Prokhorov’s” or “Misha’s Car” (those are a couple of nicknames this hybrid car has been called unofficially) will be the urban compact van and a small crossover for youth, for which the company invented a new class of vehicle “Cross-Coupe.”
Although both cars have the same platform and headlights, the rest of the design for these two vehicles is completely different and they are not identified as members of the same brand.
Although the car’s design does not look too original, and has no “own” distinctive features, it might be just the right move for the mass production targeting Russian – extremely conservative – buyers. Any car that is pushing it a bid beyond of the usual and accepted forms maybe doomed to failure. I personally have very conflicting feelings abut cars being painted in brown, green or blue mixed with beige, but hey, I could be just color blind.
Incidentally, a year ago, similar in technology, design and dimensions to Yo-Mobile’s platform electric car was produced by Italian Studio Pininfarina B0. We have the opportunity to compare the Russian and Italian designs.
ONEXIM promises to begin mass production of its vehicles in 2012. There are 158,000 orders have been placed through official web-site so far. ( http: //www.yo-auto.ru/yo-mobile/pre-order/ )
Would you consider joining the waiting list?
Comments on: "Russian Billionaire Prokhorov is Cooking a New Russian Electro Mobile" (95)
I’m with you…. at the very least the beige has got to go!
uuuffff… Thank you! I am so relieved it’s not just me.:-)
It’s not just you!
🙂
The brown and beige looks like a sofa from the 70’s! Ick. That blue with orange accents is my favorite. The blue and white is pretty neat too.
Like a sofa..LOL That’s a good one!
I swear my grandmother had one in those colors.
Maybe your Grandma was secretly consulting Russians..LOL
Ha!
You ‘Ha’ sounds like an agreement:).
To me the issue will not be colours. The issue will be overcoming the failure of the Lada to survive the North Amercan market.
Shall be interesting to watch how things will unfold.
I’m in LOVE with the little red one. My father-in-law (writes and publishes a hydrogen and fuel cell newsletter) is a bit of a buff for alternative fuel cars. I’ll have to ask him what his take is on this. On a different note: I like the way Prokhorov makes Putin look so small. I’m surprised they didn’t stage the photo so the height difference wouldn’t be so noticeable.
It would be super cool to hear your father-in-law’s opinion on this. And regarding Putin’s size versus Prokhorov’s… This is the only photo I was able to find with them standing side by side. Someone, obviously took notice of it and it never happened again, and someone, might have gotten fired for letting this pic out (maybe – I don’t know lol)… But I really enjoy looking at this photo for the same reasons that you like it.;)
Apparently, he sent Prokhorov a note but hasn’t heard back from him yet, so he doesn’t have any more info.
When did he send him a note? A while back or just yesterday?
He said it was earlier this summer.
Maybe Mr. Prokhorov just missed your father-in-law’s message?
Just returned from Costa Rica. Fabulous trip! Have much to post, but I and my son are traveling this coming week to visit my ailing father. My father-in-law has still not heard back from Mr. P. If he does get any info, you can read about it at the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Newsletter website:
http://www.hfcletter.com/Info/About-us.aspx
Will try to catch up with posting in mid-August. Ciao! Jill
Yey! Welcome back, Jilanne:-).
I would love the red one. I live by the beach and we don’t need doors!
I guess we all unanimously agree that the red one is the winner!:)
YAY!
Yey!
I’m always up for hearing about innovations in cars – you say Russians are conservative, but I also see Americans being really slow to embrace anything besides the 100 year old combustion engine.
Great photos!
I guess, people in general are gradual in their acceptance of innovations, myself – included.:)
I would love to go on the waiting list for that red one….
I know… I’ve been eyeing and admiring it too:-).
interesting story…and oh,my, what a very tall fellow! i’ll just pass on the car for now…:) thanks!
Yes, he is tall, handsome and extremely wealthy… The red car must cost a little fortune too…
I would like to have heard the nicknames for the first model! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
You are welcome… and You Are Welcome!:-)
I like the red one! Thank you for your post!
Russ
Seems like there quite a few of us who would not mind to get on the waiting list for the Red One. Maybe it should be mass-produced after all;).
I know we were supposed to be looking at the cars but I couldn’t help but notice how amazingly tall this dude is 😉
Nicely cut in a suit too 😛
But the cars are so futuristic looking – a very cool post!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
What’s not to like, right?;)
Wow, cool cars! Great post.
Thanks!:-)
Very cool cars. After much thought and reviewing your blog, I have nominated you for the Inspiring Blog Award. I have included a brief explanation of why I specifically nominated you in my blog. Thanks for inspiring me, and may you continue to inspire others. 🙂 ML
Thank you so much, Tchistorygal. I am so honored! I am running to your blog… wow
Glad you’re happy about it. Congratulations!
Ooo, enjoyed this! I’ve always wanted an electric car, but you REALLY have to live in a city to use one.
A Russian one? About time….ease those fears about getting electricuted in one.
Ha ha, time to be brave! LOL
Very interesting! I would love to own a practical and affordable electric vehicle!
I am with you;).
Great to see these pictures – I’ve been wondering about an electric car. I wonder…. It just doesn’t seem like it WOULDN’T leave me stranded…. But I loved the photos.
These ones don’t seem to be the smallest electric cars out there. Have your seen a Smart Car?
No, I haven’t see a Smart Car – I haven’t seen ANYt of these kinds of cars. It was a truly interesting post to me.
Aren’t there any of those on the streets of your City? I am surprised. We have Smart Cars drive and park here and there in NY. And in Europe they are even more popular.
Reblogged this on PATCO Consulting, LLC and commented:
New ideas from new places.
Some of those colour combinations are fantastic
Red is the only one in my mind that I’d call fantastic on thsese cars! 🙂
Red one for me too! (Though where I live means I’d have to have doors, which would completely ruin it – I’ll have to talk to the Missus about moving somewhere warmer!!)
Hey, we have to do what we have to do to get into the car like that…LOL
If they produced the red one, I’m sure they would sell more than a few.
I think so too!
This is so interesting! Thank you for sharing it! (Thank you for stopping by – and the likes!) 🙂
You are welcome, and thank you!!:)
How cool! Thank you for sharing! Thank you for dropping by and liking some of my posts!
Thanks to you! I’ll keep visiting you:-).
Didn’t know about these cars, thanks! I’ll have the red one too.
If you already got your red one, you don’t need those;). Thank you for stopping by! Have a great day!
lol…very cool!
I wanted to thank you for visiting and for the follow….It is nice to have you on board…..I will be following your terrific blog as well….
Thanks
Celeste
Your kind support is greatly appreciated, and I am all over your blog:-). Glasha
Im not sure that i like the cars.. but they are interesting.. :-).. great post
Thanks! I never drove either of those cars, so I can only judge the color choices;).
Love your Russian stuff. And the Yomobile–people would buy it for the name alone. : )
The name is pretty cool, right? LOL
Love the Yo-Mobile. Perhaps they could build a model for exclusive sale in Philadelphia and call it the Yo-Adrian.
Ha ha, perhaps LOL
This is fascinating! Regarding the first picture: I know that Putin is short, but I think that the billionaire might have paid for some growth hormones along the way. 🙂
I know…LOL
Nice.
Would be even nicer to drive that red one;).
Very cool and interesting post…I absolutely love the red modern one. I think they should launch those on the US market. The others look to basic to capture my interest….and I think we’ve established that the beige has got to go… 🙂 Thanks so much for following my blog! I’m glad you found me so that I could find you. I love your blog already! Inspiring!
Thank you for leaving a comment, and supporting the beige color disapproval…lol… And hey, if we all voice for the red one to enter an American market, who knows, Mr. Prokhorov might consider doing just that. I am glad we are now connected. Thank you!!:)
Wow!! Nice!!
I know.. right?! lol
I find it interesting the lengths we go to alter how we go from A to B. Possibly we need to consider if A or B are worth being at.
Thank you for your comment Brett. What A and B stand for?:-)
A is where we are at and B is where we want to be. Sometimes creating something “better” is a change but not always for the better.
I will disagree with you – better is better:-).
If you are saying the world is a better place because we have better cars your head is in the sand. The world has 3D TV but we ignore the three dimensional problems that exist. You may feel richer for your smartphone but the world is impoverished by your ignoranhttps://public-api.wordpress.com/rest/?notes_iframece.
Nowhere in my post did I say that better cars will make the world a better place. Making the world a better place is so much more complex than making (or not making) cars. But these type of cars that work from green energy actually do contribute to a better ecology.
I agree that we are making advances in green energy but it is my belief that people who throw cans into a blue box believe that is enough. They drive to the health club when walking would make the membership pointless. We can all do more but so many do less. I did not mean to insult you thus the big IF at the beginning of my statement. I find that technology is as interested in obsolescence for further purchase than it is in making the world a better place. I think we need to lift our gaze from our phones once in a while and realize there are many who are oppressed at best and starving at worst.
If you are saying the world is a better place because we have better cars your head is in the sand. The world has 3D TV but we ignore the three dimensional problems that exist. You may feel richer for your smartphone but the world is impoverished by your ignorance.
Dis car same as a Tata Nano car………
Yes, you’re right, dis cars resemble each other:)
If they made one that looked like a Faberge egg, it would sell in upscale U.S. markets.
Ha, ha… They could have just sold one such car-egg over the Auction, and that would pay off all the expenses…lol Great idea!
Whhhooaa! Those are some great cars! 🙂
Subhan Zein
I hope some day we’ll afford them!:-) Happy New Year!!
hehe, yes, Happy New Year. 🙂
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