ElectraMeccanica begins customer deliveries of its SOLO EV

EV producer ElectraMeccanica has formally begun buyer deliveries of its flagship SOLO EV. The three-wheeled one-seat electrical automobile has been on our radar for fairly a while, and ElectraMeccanica has labored for years to achieve this level of scaled manufacturing and deliveries.

ElectraMeccanica Autos Corp. ($SOLO) is an EV designer and producer primarily based in Vancouver, BC, and publicly traded on the Nasdaq. Whereas this electrified iteration was based in 2015, its predecessor Intermeccanica has been constructing high-end specialty vehicles for over 61 years.

Final March, ElectraMeccanica introduced it had chosen Mesa, Arizona as the location of the US manufacturing facility for its flagship SOLO EV. That facility remains to be on observe to be accomplished in the summertime of 2022 and could have the aptitude to provide 20,000 autos per yr.

This environmentally pleasant EV was particularly designed with commuting and simple deliveries in thoughts, with its compact dimension making it nicely suited to city driving circumstances. That being mentioned, the 100-mile vary and 80 mph high speeds make the SOLO greater than certified for freeway journey.

Most not too long ago, ElectraMeccanica took its delivery-focused SOLO design a step additional at this yr’s ACT Expo by introducing the SOLO Cargo EV, a modified model of its flagship automobile with an expanded rear cargo field.

With two obtainable variations of the SOLO EV in its fleet for underneath $20,000 every, ElectraMeccanica has lastly begun delivering SOLO EVs to clients.

Evaluating the retail SOLO EV subsequent to the brand new Cargo model

ElectraMeccanica begins SOLO EV deliveries to first clients

In a latest invite-only occasion held in Los Angeles, ElectraMeccanica formally started SOLO EV deliveries by offering a choose group of early reservation holders and fleet clients with their autos, together with Skechers USA.

The primary deliveries of ElectraMeccanica’s SOLO EV might really feel like déjà vu. The truth is, we coated the same story again in 2018 when the corporate made an preliminary supply announcement for Los Angeles. Nonetheless, these preliminary gross sales and deliveries had been merely prototypes and had been restricted to markets in LA, the Bay Space, and Vancouver.

When ElectraMeccanica’s CEO Paul Rivera entered the fold, he fostered huge engineering upgrades and redesigned security options on the SOLO EV.

Rivera was succeeded by former COO Kevin Pavlov this previous September, and he’s selecting up the place his predecessor left off by delivering manufacturing high quality SOLOs to clients. Pavlov spoke on this accomplishment for the corporate:

The preliminary buyer deliveries of our flagship SOLO EV marks a transformational milestone not just for ElectraMeccanica, however for the way forward for the electrical automobile trade. As the primary manufacturing SOLOs hit the street, I used to be reminded that bringing a revolutionary, production-ready EV to market is not any small feat–notably one as distinctive and differentiated as our three-wheeled, single-seat SOLO. As we glance forward, we are going to proceed to ramp manufacturing to fulfill the ever-growing calls for for right-sized EVs with a sensible on a regular basis use and serving to to create sustainable worth for our clients and shareholders alike.

SOLO deliveries will proceed to roll out to retail and fleet clients alike as ElectraMeccanica focuses on ending its Mesa manufacturing facility. It additionally seems to be to develop its viewers by means of retail in 5 western states.

Electrek‘s take

We undoubtedly thought ElectraMeccanica had already completed its first deliveries years in the past, so we had been a bit confused by this announcement. Nonetheless, after talking to the corporate, all the things is much more clear.

Delivering SOLO EVs to clients ought to be acknowledged as an enormous accomplishment for ElectraMeccanica, which has been promising these three-wheeled machines for over half a decade.

What’s at the moment unclear is what number of SOLO EVs the corporate is delivering and what number of concrete orders it has in place. To date, the automaker gained’t even share what number of reservations it has.

I actually imagine the SOLO EV is a superb automobile for the needs it’s designed for – e.g. single-passenger commutes and fleet deliveries, and on paper, it has fantastic specs. Nonetheless, I’m genuinely to see how this automobile fares within the EV market.

Whereas I’m rooting for the corporate to succeed, I’m not personally satisfied persons are going to pay almost $19,000 for a single-seat EV with a 100-mile vary – particularly as different EV automakers are getting their five-seat EVs down beneath $30k with federal tax credit. (The SOLO at the moment classifies as a motorbike in most states, and wouldn’t qualify for EV credit right now).

Both approach, I’m trying ahead to following this firm’s manufacturing progress as its scales and hope to check out a SOLO EV for myself quickly.

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