The smart RV market is booming, and the former first product manager of Anker has already entered the arena | Exclusive interview by Yingke
Author | Huang Nan
Editor | Yuan Silai
After Xiao Ang left Anker, where he had worked for more than a decade, he spent some time wandering around the United States. He deliberately avoided big cities and drove to Indiana, a state that was not so trendy.
At that time, the venture capital circle was still digesting the aftermath of the previous year's slowdown. As Anker Innovations' first product manager, Xiao Ang witnessed the golden decade of consumer electronics going global. He was in charge of different businesses at Anker every year, was deeply involved in building the company's complete product planning system, and managed a business line that accounted for over 40% of Anker's revenue. Before leaving, he was the only core manager within the company who served as both the product director and the general manager of the product line.
People knew he would start a business, but they didn't expect him to enter a completely unfamiliar industry.
During that hot summer, Xiao Ang drove across the vast plains of the American Midwest and stopped at RV factories and wilderness camps that few Chinese people had ever visited.
In the workshop of the RV factory, next to the modern production line, there were planks and nails everywhere. Craftsmen were still using woodworking skills to build products called "mobile homes." In the maintenance area of the dealership, the disassembled car bodies exposed the rotten wooden structures, and all the soaked and moldy boards had to be replaced. At the campsite, retirees were still content with the "mobile community" life with water and electricity connections. Many young families shook their heads at the configuration that "cut off supplies once they left the camp," but had to compromise with the reality of lack of electricity and water.
At that moment, the jigsaw puzzle in Xiao Ang's mind was complete. On one side was an old industry in urgent need of technological innovation but locked by monopoly interests. On the other side were the rapidly growing but unmet needs of the new generation. A huge market gap means unprecedented opportunities. Amid the choking dust, Xiao Ang determined his next stop.
The electrification of traditional RVs is not a new concept, but Xiao Ang found that the half - hearted "all - electric" solutions were just scratching the surface. The real pain point is not whether there is electricity, but whether there is "unlimited and inexhaustible" power freedom. Based on this, Xiao Ang founded Squirrel Power and made a crucial and differentiated technological decision: to adopt the extended - range solution.
He is determined to use an unprecedented intelligent extended - range towable RV to enter this overseas blue - ocean market with an annual increment of hundreds of thousands of units but ignored by traditional manufacturing.
Facts have proved that Xiao Ang didn't choose the wrong direction. Three years later, intelligent RVs have become a popular startup track.
In July 2025, Pebble Flow, founded by former Chinese employees of Apple, officially delivered its first camping trailer. In December 2025, KEPLO, an intelligent RV enterprise founded by the former Li Auto team, announced the completion of a $45 million angel round of financing. At the same time, Hard Krypton learned that a senior employee of DJI also plans to enter the RV field after leaving the company.
At CES in January this year, Squirrel Power officially launched its first product, the Evotrex - PG5. This is also the industry's first self - generating towable RV, which features an uncompromising lifestyle of off - grid and outdoor freedom, with a starting price of $120,000.
Squirrel Power's booth at CES 2026 (Source/Enterprise)
This is not just a startup; it is also a refinement of Xiao Ang's more than a decade of product experience. From lightweight consumer electronics to the heavy "mobile home," this time, Xiao Ang has to cross a longer, heavier, and wider river.
We had a two - hour in - depth conversation with Xiao Ang and listened to him share how to apply a proven hardware methodology to traditional industries and define the thinking and ambition behind a brand - new experience.
The following is the transcript of the conversation between Hard Krypton and Xiao Ang, the founder and CEO of Squirrel Power. The content has been edited:
Young Users Become the Main Force
Hard Krypton: From the appearance, the structure and shape of Squirrel Power's first product are different from the RVs commonly seen in China.
Xiao Ang: Overseas RVs and domestic RVs are completely "two different species." Due to different regulatory restrictions, most domestic RVs are modified in the mode of "front cab + rear living compartment," and the interior space is relatively cramped. Some users even prefer to carry tents for outdoor accommodation. In markets such as the United States, Australia, and Canada, 90% of RVs are towable RVs, which do not need to be modified and are produced in batches.
We chose towable RVs as our entry point. They don't have a cab and need to be towed by a front vehicle, usually a pickup truck. This means that it is first and foremost a living space. Users are buying a pure living experience without having to consider driving performance, which significantly reduces our R & D and verification costs.
Hard Krypton: An RV has the attributes of both a "house" and a "car." How do you define your product?
Xiao Ang: In the overall design, we created a sense of being in nature while still having the comfort of home around the "forest - style" concept. For example, the design inspiration for the bed comes from the concept of the "human cave." It has a strong sense of enclosure in appearance, which can provide a sense of security for users in the wild and isolate external noise.
Many hidden technological elements are integrated into the interior details, such as the smart brain function provided by the touch panel, mural - style smart speakers, and smart projectors. These household products provide functions with a sense of ritual and surprise to optimize the user's living experience.
In terms of structure, we have an original design - the tailgate, which can be opened to become an outdoor balcony. This is a function that most RVs on the market did not have before. Users can drink tea and fish on the balcony, greatly expanding the scenarios of RV life.
The original tailgate design can be extended to an outdoor balcony (Source/Enterprise)
The essence of RV life is to escape from the urban steel forest and integrate into nature. Traditional RVs may only support users to stay in the wild for one day, while ours allows users to live comfortably in the wild away from infrastructure for several days, a week, or even longer.
Hard Krypton: Different users have their own style preferences for "home." How do you meet these personalized needs?
Xiao Ang: We have to make trade - offs. As a startup, providing a large number of customization options will bring huge inventory and delivery pressure. Therefore, our strategy is to offer only 1 to 2 options for interior styles and a limited number of exterior colors on the basis of providing core capabilities that other manufacturers can hardly offer, such as long - term off - grid survival.
In addition, we have added some optional configuration packages, such as electric and manual sunshades, electric and manual pedals. These can be adjusted during local assembly in the United States without increasing inventory pressure.
Hard Krypton: Compared with the previous generation of RV products, how do you hope the users with the most purchasing power or decision - making power in the family to view this product?
Xiao Ang: We often tell investors that we are not simply creating a hardware replacement or function addition but a brand - new experience. This experience of seamlessly transplanting the "complete comfort of home" into the wilderness was impossible in the past use of RVs.
It targets users of the ultra - luxury Glamping (glamorous camping) lifestyle. This target market is extremely large overseas. Among the more than 300 million people in the United States, 170 million participate in outdoor sports, 80 million have the habit of camping, and the number of RVs in use is as high as 14 million, with hundreds of thousands of new RVs added every year.
Ultra - luxury Glamping scene (Source/Enterprise)
For outdoor enthusiasts, they don't have to compromise on basic living quality while getting close to nature. This is a revolution in lifestyle, not just a product iteration.
In fact, the traditional RV industry has existed for nearly a century. Without technological breakthroughs, it is difficult to have startup opportunities. The spill - over of electric vehicle technology has brought the possibility of electrification to the RV industry.
Behind this is the superposition of two core trends: the change of the consumer population and the rise of the outdoor boom. People hope to stay in the wild longer, which requires solving basic survival problems such as electricity and water. This is also the core starting point for us to define a product with a brand - new experience.
Hard Krypton: What are the obvious characteristics of this group of people? Are they the same as traditional RV users?
Xiao Ang: Previously, the main users of RVs in Europe and the United States were retirees over 55 years old. Their usage scenarios were concentrated in RV camps, where the camps would provide water and electricity connections. It was like a "mobile house," but users had to pay $60 to $100 per night, with an annual cost of over $10,000. Some people even sold their houses and lived in RVs for a long time, forming exclusive RV communities surrounded by peers with similar lifestyles. This model has continued for decades.
Until the post - pandemic era, the industry logic completely changed. Young users have become the main force. They dislike the centralized living model in camps and are more eager to escape from the city, stay away from the crowd, and go camping in wild areas such as deserts, forests, and beaches. These places have no camp facilities, no water or electricity, and even no mobile phone signal, but they can meet their needs to get close to nature.
This group of users usually travels in groups of several friends or families, drives a towable RV, brings food and off - road equipment, and stays outdoors for a long time. The towable RV is the core carrier for them to carry this lifestyle.
For them, the biggest bottleneck is water and electricity. Traditional RVs cannot be separated from the water and electricity supply of the camp, and electrification just solves this pain point.
The Choice of the Extended - Range Route
Hard Krypton: How does Squirrel Power's electrification solution specifically solve the problems of water and electricity?
Xiao Ang: Traditional RVs are usually equipped with a maximum of 2 to 3 kWh of electricity. Users can increase it to about 10 kWh by installing additional battery packs. In contrast, we adopted the very mature "extended - range" solution in China.
Currently, the extended - range vehicle technology in China is mature and the supply is sufficient. By burning oil to generate electricity, the thermal efficiency of the extended - range generator can reach over 40%. One liter of oil can generate more than 3 kWh of electricity. According to our 75 - liter fuel tank and 43 - kWh battery, it can provide up to 270 kWh of electricity, which is completely sufficient for long - term use in the wild. With sufficient electricity, many things become possible, such as taking a hot shower every day, using the air - conditioner all night, and cooking hot food at any time.
Many users, including investors, don't have a quantitative perception of the off - grid water and electricity demand. Therefore, we specially developed an off - grid calculator and put it on our official website for everyone's reference.
Users can input a few simple indicators according to their usage scenarios and needs, such as the number of people, the season and weather, the number of meals cooked per day, and the number of showers per day. It will automatically calculate the daily water and electricity consumption and the number of days that the PG5 can support.
The calculation result in the following figure is for a normal sunny day in summer. It is worth noting that in such a situation, the daily electricity consumption is as high as 30 kWh.
It can automatically calculate the daily water and electricity consumption (Source/Enterprise)
At the same time, our design also takes into account several core scenarios. The first is the idle time. Many RVs are parked at home 80% of the time. For young users who are not retired, the RV can be used as a home energy storage device when it is idle and supply power to the home through the circuit.
The second is the energy consumption during towing. When an electric pickup truck tows an RV, its subsequent range will be reduced by 60% - 70%. Squirrel Power's RV has its own motor, which can provide auxiliary power during towing to help the front vehicle increase its range. During this period, the extended - range generator can generate electricity while driving, which can not only be used by itself but also charge the front vehicle in reverse, just like adding a "mobile power bank" to the electric vehicle, thus forming a closed - loop of "refueling - generating electricity - charging" and eliminating range anxiety.
Hard Krypton: In addition to the extended - range system, what other intelligent upgrades have been made to the living space?
Xiao Ang: Intelligence must serve user value, which is mainly reflected in three aspects: convenience, comfort, and safety.
In terms of convenience, we have electrified all controls. Components such as heavy sunshades, pedals, and tailgates can be opened and closed with one key. In the future, these can also be opened by voice commands and induction, bringing great convenience to users' operations.
Regarding comfort, intelligent climate control is the key. The system will adjust the temperature inside the vehicle in advance based on the user's daily usage habits and the location information of the user's mobile terminal, so that users can enjoy a suitable environment as soon as they enter the vehicle.
In terms of safety, we introduced the concept of security. The vehicle is equipped with cameras and other devices, as well as a sentry mode. We also designed it to support the installation of Starlink satellite Internet, ensuring stable Internet access even when the vehicle is in a remote area.
The intelligent experience of our RV is generations ahead of traditional RVs, but the prices are similar. Therefore, we believe that even users in their 50s who are about to retire and drive fuel - powered vehicles will be willing to choose Squirrel Power's products with a better experience.
Hard Krypton: What was the biggest difficulty the team encountered in the process of realizing these functions?
Xiao Ang: The supply chain was the biggest challenge. When making hardware products, there are always a large number of details to balance, such as whether the supply chain can support what we think of, whether it can be done but at a very high cost, and whether the input - output ratio of mold - opening is reasonable.