Burnaby-based ENVO Drive Systems is hoping its modular electric vehicle (EV) platform can fill a gap between e-bikes and small cars — offering customizable battery-powered vehicles for nearly 20 applications, from microcars and snow plows to lawn mowers.

Founded by Ali Kazemkhani in 2015, ENVO manufactures and sells battery-powered bikes, scooters, trikes, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. ENVO has reached over 40,000 riders in North America.

While e-mobility options such as e-bikes are great, they “cannot do everything we want,” Kazemkhani said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada. “There are still things that need four wheels.”

Many companies have tried to address this problem, he explained, but have tripped on the high costs of designing and building an EV from the ground up.

ENVO hopes to overcome that barrier with UPT. Standing for utility personal transporter, it is a platform oriented around a standardized chassis, drivetrain and control architecture to support at least 18 battery-powered vehicles. Likened to working with Lego blocks by Kazemkhani, UPT allows clients to “build, tailor and customize the vehicle that you need for your industry and use case.”

UPT opens a “big spectrum” for light electric four-wheeled vehicles, Kazemkhani said, such as uses in landscaping, security, mining and agriculture, where electric micromobility offerings can be slim.

“We are introducing a new concept. No one has done this before.”

A passion for e-transportation, sustainability

Kazemkhani is a mechanical engineer by education with a self-described passion for electric mobility and sustainability.

In the early 2000s when living in Iran, Kazemkhani developed an electric motor system for bicycles. It was mass produced, but the product hit the market at the wrong time and place, Kazemkhani reflected years later.

“I failed the business . . . But the passion was still saying with me.”

Kazemkhani spent the early 2010s helping develop a motor with a Chinese manufacturer while keeping up with innovations in electric micromobility, such as the transition from sealed lead acid batteries to lithium-ion batteries.

In 2014, Kazemkhani moved to Canada, bringing with him his entrepreneurial ambition. He developed a bicycle conversion kit and started an e-commerce business to sell the product. That, he said, was the root of “a bootstrap business” that became ENVO.

The Lego-like UPT

UPT is a modular foundation that allows for the customization of an EV for various needs. ENVO’s website allows anyone to play around with parts and virtually assemble a bespoke vehicle, with the results showing up instantly.

Users can choose between eight kinds of steering control and brake systems, seven types of seats, a two- or four-wheel drive motor, and a single or dual battery, to name a few options at hand. This flexibility means UPT can be used to make utility vehicles, snow plows, cargo bikes and airport terminal shuttle cars, for example.

The battery for UPT can cover up to around 200 kilometres in ideal conditions. The payload capacity for a UPT vehicle can reach 250 kilograms, with a max towing capacity of 350 kilograms.

The UPT is designed to be compliant with Low Speed Vehicle or Neighborhood Electric Vehicles laws in North America.

Kazemkhani noted the advantages of working with UPT.

The first is economic. UPT’s parts are mass produced at low cost, Kazemkhani said, meaning, “we can have a tailored and custom solution within mass-produced budgets and costs.” Prices for a vehicle designed with UPT can range from US$8,000 to US$14,000, Kazemkhani said.

The second is speed. If a city needs a parking patrol vehicle, for example, the product can be designed and a prototype delivered in mere weeks using UPT, Kazemkhani said. This would typically take two years to accomplish, he added, bringing substantial costs.

The third benefits are flexibility and sustainability. With the many configurations under the platform, UPT can help cover gaps in industries that do not have ready access to light EVs, while reducing carbon emissions.

UPT sales

For Canadians, UPT vehicles are assembled in Burnaby. For markets outside Canada, ENVO is in discussions with partners for manufacturing in those countries.

The company has tested vehicles under several configurations in Burnaby, such as a golf cart, buggy and scooter. Additionally, it has vehicles it is preparing to showcase at the CES in Las Vegas next January.

ENVO is in discussions with businesses in 18 industry verticals to offer UPT, Kazemkhani said, such as movies and agriculture. The company has received pre-orders from almost all the verticals, he added, with the expectation to deliver vehicles in early 2027.