- OK Ventures, the venture capital arm of OK Group
,entra en el accionariado de LIUX como socio principal junto con sus dos fundadores.
- The startup LIUX has developed an urban electric vehicle positioned as a benchmark in sustainability.
Palma de Mallorca, 29 July 2024
After a challenging year 2023 for automotive startups, with the bankruptcy of several major European electric vehicle projects, OK Group, through its venture capital division OK Ventures, and LIUX have reached an agreement for the Spanish electric vehicle startup to take off.
This deal makes OK Ventures the lead investor in LIUX, representing a significant strategic move by the group to further expand in the mobility industry. This participation in LIUX is the first foray of OK Group, a holding company to which OK Mobility also belongs, into a vehicle manufacturer, specifically in the category of light urban vehicles, the segment with the highest growth in recent years and the highest future growth prospects (3 recent years of growth of over 20% per annum and projected growth of 13% per annum until 2032 according to McKinsey).
LIUX, founded in 2021 by Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros and David Sancho, has broken into the mobility sector with a unique value proposition. Its mission is not only focused on making electric vehicles, but also on developing technologies to make vehicles more sustainable, such as bio-based composites using flax fibre and recyclable resins and removable modular batteries. Not only are these materials lighter than conventional materials, but their production produces a much lower carbon footprint than traditional materials.
LIUX has developed the LIUX GEKO model, a light, L7 category, 100% electric urban vehicle. With a removable battery, it is built with an innovative body made of flax fibre, which achieves a significant weight reduction to maximise its outstanding energy efficiency. It offers a base range of 170 km, extendable up to 230 km, a very compact size of 2.7 x 1.5 metres for easy parking in cities.
This model not only reduces the carbon footprint by 40% to 80% compared to conventional passenger cars over its lifetime, but also improves energy efficiency compared to traditional electric vehicles, exceeding 13 km/kWh.
Othman Ktiri, Founder and Chairman of OK Group, welcomes the agreement reached. “Entrepreneurship, mobility, sustainability and ‘Made in Spain’, how could we say no! LIUX has developed proprietary technology to make vehicles more sustainable, and its strategic vision in the light vehicle segment is making more and more sense. We know the technology and the product they have created, and we are delighted to support and be part of this ambitious and exciting project”.
For his part, Antonio Espinosa, CEO of LIUX, states that: “We are delighted to join a Spanish company that is leading growth and innovation in the mobility sector at a European level. With OK Group, whose focus on mobility, innovation and sustainability aligns perfectly with our own, we have a long-term partner that brings us a unique market vision and business development capability”.
Production of the LIUX GEKO will take place in Spain and will start in the second half of 2025.
About OK Ventures
OK Ventures is the venture capital arm of the OK Group holding company, which also includes other companies such as OK Mobility, OK Yachts and others. OK Ventures’ mission is to advise entrepreneurs and raise capital for projects that generate value, are differentiating and propose a transformative business model with a positive impact on society and sustainable in the long term.
About LIUX
LIUX is a Spanish sustainable mobility startup that is being disruptive in the design and manufacture of electric vehicles through the use of natural and recyclable materials, modularity and 3D printing. Its purpose is to make the most sustainable cars on the planet and make them accessible to millions of consumers.