On 21 December 2020, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University presented the first Russian electric car – KAMA 1. The new electric car is designed by CompMech Lab, Computer Engineering Center at the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, in partnership with KAMAZ.

CompMech Lab has used its own digital twinning platform, CML-Bench™, to design an electric car across its lifecycle. This digital twin platform is unique and enables to develop different electric vehicles, generate and integrate improvements into the existing model including software, electronic and electric components.

According to Mr. Aleksey Borovko, Vice-rector for strategic projects, the KAMA 1 project took only two years from start to finish. That was possible due to their digital twining technology that enabled to cut production costs twofold, reduce the project budget, optimize project timeline and offer advanced engineering solutions.  

The main industrial partner is KAMAZ. Kamaz was responsible for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), electronic systems that assist drivers in driving and parking. The battery for KAMA 1 was custom-made by a Chinese partner. Kamaz is planning the launch the new electric car by the end of 2025 and develop a range of electric vehicles.

KAMA 1 specifications:

• Caregory M1
• Range 250 km
• Battery 33 kWh , LiNMc
• Max speed: 150 km/h
• Acceleration 0-60 km/h – 3,2 sec
• Acceleration 0-100 km/h – 6,7 sec
• Electric motor 80 kW
• Rear-wheel drive (RWD)
• Charging time: 6 hours / 20 min
• Ground clearance: 160 mm
• Wheelbase: 2 100 mm
• Track: 1 500 mm
• Weight: 1 300 kgs
• Dimensions L/W/H: 3,4 / 1,7 / 1,6 m
• Seating: 2+2
• Suspension (F/R): MacPherson / Multilink
• Tyres: 205/45 R17
• Advanced driver-assistance systems: ADAS levels 3-4