SUNCAR emerged from an ETH focus project in which students of mechanical engineering and electrical engineering worked to integrate electric drive systems into real vehicles. Between 2011 and 2014, the students converted the first vehicles—not as purely academic objects, but with the ambition of achieving functionality under real-world conditions.

In 2014, a milestone followed that shaped further development: the world’s first battery-electric excavator. This project made it clear that electrification is possible even where high power and harsh environmental conditions come together.

With the founding of SUNCAR AG in 2015, this pioneering achievement became a company with a direct link to the market. Proximity to machines, users, and operating conditions was defining from the outset: developments were implemented for daily use on construction sites and in demanding environments.

In the years that followed, the focus shifted consistently from demonstrators to fully operational machines in the field. The first pre-series applications emerged, and electrification was transferred to different power classes and machine types. It became clear that the decisive difference lies not in individual components, but in the interaction of the systems.

This insight led to a targeted expansion of capabilities: engineering was structured to deliver complex customer projects, while proprietary products and subsystems were developed in parallel that are reusable and scalable. This approach was complemented by assistance and automation solutions that make machines not only lower-emission, but also more productive and safer.

As the company grew, SUNCAR continued to evolve—from a technology-driven origin to a partner that takes responsibility for complete systems. To this day, the work operates in the tension between development and application: new technologies are not considered in isolation, but implemented in the context of real machine architectures.