Pioneering 3D printed car on sale next year

The world's first 3D printed car will go on sale in 2019.

When it does, its makers claim the small Smart ForTwo-sized pure-electric vehicle will forever change the way mass-produced cars are made.

At least that's what Chinese company Polymaker and Italy-based X Electrical Vehicle (XEV) hope, when its first model, the LSEV, goes on sale.

Created almost entirely using 3D printing tech that builds parts from the ground up, layer by layer, the benefits of the technique perfected by Polymaker is that waste is dramatically reduced.

The 3D printing also ensures that the number of plastic parts in the car will be dramatically pared back from 200 pieces (using conventional car making processes) to just 57.

The LSEV makers say that large car makers will more and more rely on 3D printing because, not only does it reduce waste, but less energy is involved and, in return, there's less of an environmental impact in car production.

The pure-electric prototype set to be unveiled at the Beijing motor show next month is said to have a range of around 150km, and will be capable of a top speed of 70km/h.

XEV says it hopes to make around 500 LSEVs a year on a single production line from 2019. Each will be priced at around $A13,000 and will weigh in at just 450kg – around half the weight of a Smart ForTwo.

Once the LSEV is launched, other 3D cars are sure to follow, the company says, citing the flexibility of 3D printing, combined with XEV's high-performance printers.

Recently, MINI has announced it will begin offering customers 3D printed parts to personalise their cars while hypercar maker Bugatti revealed that a 3D printed brake caliper for its Chiron is 2kg lighter than the original part, while offering far better durability.