Rinspeed concept vehicle powered by Linde Material Handling
Under the motto "My, your, our car!", the automotive think-tank Rinspeed, run by its Swiss founder, Frank M. Rinderknecht, unveiled the "microMAX" at this year's motor show — a completely new class of vehicle with an innovative upright seating concept that aims to combine private and public use over short distances in a smart way. The vehicle is fitted with the eco-Kit M from Linde Material Handling, the leading manufacturer of electrically driven counterbalance forklift trucks in Europe. The device is responsible for powering the drive system of the "microMAX", which is a fully electric vehicle. The eco-Kit M is one of three pre-built drive units that provide 12 (S), 32 (M) and 50 (L) kilowatts of power, allowing mobile and stationary applications to be converted to electrical power. The company first presented the unit at Automechanika 2012.

 
"microMAX" – a completely new class of vehicle with an innovative upright seating concept that aims to combine private and public use over short distances in a smart way.

An asynchronous motor with a torque of 130 newton metres forms the heart of the drive unit. Its brain is a LINC1 controller, which uses two can bus systems to convert the accelerator signal for actuating the converter to the required rotational speed. The controller also monitors the battery management system and transfers the traction and battery parameters to the driver display. The software allows the drive system to be adapted optimally to the specific vehicle characteristics of the "microMAX". All components, including the drive direction switch and contactor board with the main contactor, DC converter and further components that round off the system, are also used in the E35 electric forklift truck from Linde MH, and have been tried and tested many times in everyday use.