Opel presents electric campervan based on the Zafira e-Life

Opel has announced that a campervan based on the battery-electric Zafira-e Life will be launched next year. The ‘Crosscamp Flex’ presented at the Caravan Salon from 27 August to 4 September is still a prototype.

The campervan was built on the basis of an Opel Zafira-e Life with a 75 kWh battery. Opel does not specify the range of the Crosscamp Flex in the press release. Before the conversion, the WLTP range of the standard model is 322 kilometres. With the camping conversion, however, the weight increases and the aerodynamics deteriorate somewhat: the Crosscamp Flex Zafira-e Life has a pop-up roof and an awning that can be pulled out on the passenger side.

There are no changes to the drive: the 100 kW drive power remains, and the charging power is also a maximum of 100 kW. This should allow the battery to be charged to 80 per cent in 48 minutes. In order to preserve the drive battery, an additional body battery with 95 Ah capacity supplies the consumers on board, such as lights, cool box or USB socket for charging smartphones, cameras or other electronic devices.

With the aforementioned pop-up roof and the reclining area on the folded rear seats, the model is supposed to offer four sleeping places. Otherwise, too, everything is to be on board “what campers need for a relaxed overnight trip”, according to Opel. This includes front seats that can be rotated 180 degrees, and a kitchen block with cupboards, a sink and a gas cooker.

Series production of the Crosscamp Flex Zafira-e Life is scheduled to start in the first half of 2023 at Crosscamp, a Hymer brand from Allgäu. The brand is also planning to offer the electric Urban Camper as a Crosscamp Lite in the future. However, the company has not yet named prices for the camper conversion.

“It is not only in the passenger car segment that vehicle manufacturers are currently significantly expanding their range of electric vehicles, but also in vans and transporters,” says Christof Häßler, Business Unit Manager Urban Camper at Dethleffs. “At the same time, the acceptance of electric drives is growing with the expansion of the infrastructure. With the electrically powered Crosscamp Flex, we want to pick up on this trend and, as a specialist for urban campers suitable for everyday use, build a bridge from the passenger car segment into the motorhome sector.”

stellantis.com, crosscamp.com (Dethleffs, in German)