By June 26, 2017 Read More →

Electra Meccanica goes public, delivers first production SOLO EV to Vancouver business owners

Electra Meccanica

First production SOLO leaves Electra Meccanica factory. Photo: video screenshot.

Electra Meccanica says it has over 500 SOLO orders already, 80-plus for next electric vehicle

The past week has been an exciting one for Vancouver-based Electra Meccanica Vehicles Corp., which on Thursday delivered its first production one-person commuter electric vehicle and on Monday had its common stock approved for trading on the OTCQB market under the symbol ECCTF.

Electra MeccanicaThe buyers of the first ever SOLO are Leona and Matthew Green of New Westminster, BC, who own the popular Greens and Beans Deli Cafe.

Naturally, they ordered their SOLO in British Racing Green and use it as a marketing tool.

“We love our new SOLO,” said Leona. “We park it in front of our business and you should see how much attention it gets.”

Electra Meccanica says it is “thrilled” to deliver the first SOLO to a Vancouver family.

“We think it fits perfectly with their local healthy food business as an attention-getting, environmentally-friendly vehicle with enough storage for all of their daily needs,” Mark West, president of Electra Meccanica, said on the company’s web site.

The Solo is not your father’s electric vehicle. It has three wheels, a 160 kilometre range,  and a top speed of 130 kph. This is a car designed for commuters who need to travel into a big city for work and then get around the downtown quickly and efficiently.

“…83% of people are commuting 30 kilometres or less each direction by themselves in a five-person gasoline car. That’s the sweet spot – it’s huge. It’s not a niche, it’s the majority,” CEO Jerry Kroll said in an interview.

Electra Meccanica

Jerry Kroll, Electra Meccanica CEO, seated in a Solo chassis.

Kroll is an enthusiastic booster of electric vehicles and argues that it’s no longer just early adopters buying “regular electric cars.”

“I think the Bolt and the Model 3 are evidence that everybody wants an electric car,” he said. 

“The next S-curve we’re looking for people to get over needing a 5-person car everywhere they go and to use a one-person SOLO the same way they’d use a smartphone as opposed to a large desktop computer.”

Kroll says the company has world-wide sales already and can produce between 4,000 and 8,000 units next year, followed by 20,000 in 2019.

“But there are potential manufacturing partners that could rapidly scale that up. On the sales side, we’re opening Solo stores,” he said, including several in the lower mainland of British Columbia already.

The Chevy Bolt – the first production EV with a 300 km range selling for under $40,000USD – debuted in Jan. in the United States and just 5,950 units were sold by the end of May, according to Inside EVs.

Tesla took almost 400,000 Model 3 pre-orders last year, but won’t deliver the first car until later this year.

Electric vehicle sales are down in the US, which bought under 160,000 in 2016, compared to total auto sales of 17.6 million. Worldwide EV sales were 777,000, compared to global auto sales of 88.1 million.

Electra Meccanica spokesperson Jeff Holland said more information will be available on the company’s initial public offering in coming days.

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