The developer of Atom explained unusual solutions in an electric car

The unusual design of the doors, control of the main functions using the buttons on the steering wheel and the abandonment of the traditional multimedia system — these solutions provided in the Russian electric car Atom are designed for drivers who are ready for a new user experience and are looking for something different from the mainstream. This was stated by Harald Grubel, executive director of the Kama company, which develops the model, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on October 23.

One of the unusual solutions of Atom was the design of the doors — the rear doors open against the movement. A similar scheme is used, for example, in BMW i3, Honda Element, Mazda RX8 and Rolls-Royce models. An additional difference of the Atom was the absence of a central rack for automatic door opening.

According to Grubel, such a scheme simplifies boarding and disembarking passengers, including parents with children. He also noted that non-standard door designs are increasingly being used by Chinese manufacturers seeking to distinguish their models from competitors.

The top manager acknowledged that unusual management bodies require adaptation, but considers this a natural consequence of the emergence of new technologies. Instead of the usual media system, the car received a display in the steering wheel and a projection display on the windshield. Kama explained the rejection of traditional dashboard screens with the concept of a minimalistic digital device. According to the developers, this layout allows you to get information about navigation, driver assistance systems and comfort settings without being distracted by a separate central screen.

"There has never been a new feature in a car that the driver doesn't have to get used to. Because the new is always a revolution, because it has never happened before. But after 6-10 hours of driving, the driver gets used to the innovation," says Grubel.

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Sergey Tselikov, director of the Autostat analytical agency, announced on October 9 that 14 new Atom electric vehicles were registered in Russia in September. For all time, only 54 such cars have been registered in Russia. When the Atom was assembled at the Moskvich plant in Moscow in September, it was officially announced that it would soon increase the production rate to 20 cars per shift.

As Igor Povarazdnyuk, General Director of Kama JSC, reported on September 17, it is planned to produce up to 10,000 Atom machines in 2026-2027.