As we approach the final days of our first crowd round we thought we should share some reasons to make your investment. The numbers and financial projections are readily available once you’ve registered but here is the big picture.

Our business is focused on making efficient cars desirable and efficiency profitable. Bending great engineering and design to this task is indisputably good news for the environment, but it also makes sound business sense. The more efficient our cars are and the longer they are on the road, the more money we make. No need to cheat the regulations.

Environmental performance    

The Rasa is the car furthest on the road towards sustainability. It boasts the lowest CO₂ well-to-wheel, the lowest particulates and NO_x from tyres and braking (none from the exhaust – just pure water), the longest lasting cars, with maximum recovery of value at end of life. And at the equivalent of 250mpg, it is probably the most fuel–efficient vehicle yet designed for everyday road-going use (ie not a test or competition car).

This environmental performance is not at the expense of design and desirability. 

Design and Desirability The lines of the Rasa are sleek and streamlined for incredible aerodynamics. Chris Reitz, famed for designing the iconic FIAT 500, styled the Rasa: “Early adopters are very open in their mind – they like to have their finger on the pulse, they look for a car with style.”

And the Rasa is a dreamy ride.

 “A car designed from the ground up to harness the power of hydrogen, and slip through the air like an otter through water “ Jack Rix

  “Almost like a glider to drive, inasmuch as it wants to flow with nature”   Chris Evans

But the car is principally designed with people in mind – their safety and comfort. For example, the butterfly doors make it easy to get in and out of, despite being a low car.

We also believe in minimal clutter and will be seeking to (River)simplify even further. Our planned 20-car beta test will allow feedback to directly influence the development of the car and the service to deliver what customers really want and remove the things that they don’t.

A business model that delivers for the customer as well as the company

Offering the car as a service makes our cars affordable, de-risks uptake for the customer and takes the hassle out of ownership with an all-inclusive, cost-transparent service. Globally, consumers are shifting their perceptions. And this works to our advantage. Usership over ownership is a common theme in some clever and astonishingly lucrative businesses, from mobile phone providers to hire-by-the-hour cars. The future is ‘servitisation’.

Sustainability also makes sense for shareholders. Some businesses are starting to adopt circular economy principles to save money. We‘re a step ahead. Our entire business is designed not just to save money but make more profit, at the same price to the customer, with cars that are built for longevity, resource conservation – and, crucially, a resilient income stream.

A hydrogen lead in the UK

China, the world’s biggest car market, is now actively supporting fuel cell vehicle development with major subsidies, and countries like Japan and the US, regions known for leading innovation trends, are developing infrastructure for hydrogen.

Riversimple could give the UK a lead position in this technology. Compared to other hydrogen fuel cell cars, Riversimple’s vehicle has the same acceleration and range, but is a 3rd of the weight, a 13^th of the power and 3x as efficient. Public refuelling stations in the UK are being opened, with more stacking up in the pipeline. These stations alone are enough to support our first 3 years of planned production.

Small-scale manufacturing, big talent

Our latest innovation? A layer of flax in the Rasa’s carbon fibre shell. Our continuing focus is on efficiency, lightweighting, improvement of the ride in the car and safety.

Small is beautiful and profitable in our case, but it is also scale-able; this broad spectrum of profitable scale is very rare and is a key strategy to derisk our business.

Our business model embraces small-scale, regional manufacturing operations that draw on the best the UK has to offer and our first phase of manufacturing could create 220 jobs locally in Wales. UK automotive talent is world-renowned and we’re already attracting engineers from the likes of Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce plc and aerospace. We also have the promise of material financial support from the Welsh government.

Improving air quality

Finally, and maybe most importantly, we are offering something that the world needs rather more urgently than autonomous vehicles.  According to the Royal College of Physicians, c.40,00 early deaths a year in the UK are caused by air pollution.  Just under 210,000 light delivery van journeys  were recorded in Birmingham in 2015.   Imagine replacing all those diesel delivery vans with non-polluting Riversimple hydrogen vans.

This  is an opportunity to invest not only in a huge market but in a future that we all want to see and breathe.

INVEST HERE

Our current crowdfunding campaign has been approved as a financial promotion by ShareIn Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (603332). Capital at risk.  Photography by Anthony Dawton.