The first question you might ask yourself when seeing the new Solo electric vehicle, now on display at Scottsdale Fashion Square, is: "Where's the back of the car?"
The second question you might ponder is: "Who really needs it, anyway?"
Motorists are so accustomed to having vehicles with four-plus seats and a standard trunk that they might overlook the simple reality that they often don't use all that space — nor all the power in the drive train.
"We commute alone, go to the gym alone and go get coffee alone," said Paul Rivera, the Phoenix-based CEO of ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp., a Canadian company with Italian roots that will start producing Solos in China this year for the American market. "Most of the things we do, we do alone."
The Solo hopes to get more people thinking along those lines — that three wheels, one seat for the driver and a truncated trunk is usually enough.
Motorcycle similarities
It's not unreasonable to view the car as little more than a stable, enclosed motorcycle, which is how it's registered. In fact, drivers in a few states (though not Arizona) will be required to wear helmets and have a motorcycle driver's license to operate one. The vehicle's manufacturer, Zongshen Industrial Group, is a motorcycle maker.
The Solo, powered by a lithium-ion battery system, has a range of up to 100 miles, with a top speed around 80 miles per hour. It can be recharged in eight hours or less using a conventional electrical outlet, or in about half that time with charging systems designed for electric vehicles. The Solo can go from zero to 60 mph in about 10 seconds. Battery effectiveness is likely to decline gradually over time.
Standard features include power windows and steering, air conditioning and a rear-view backup camera. There are no airbags in current models, although Rivera said passengers receive protection from front and rear crumple zones, a roll bar and other safety features.
Italian auto-design lineage
ElectraMeccanica, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Vancouver, owns a long-established Italian auto-design and manufacturing company, InterMeccanica International.
ElectraMeccanica so far has been generating losses with minimal revenue but has been raising money in the stock market. Its shares trade on Nasdaq under the symbol SOLO.
In documents produced for shareholders, ElectraMeccanica lists key electric-vehicle competitors as the Tesla Model S, the Chevrolet Bolt and the Nissan Leaf. But in an interview, Rivera said the Solo also could appeal to people who currently get around on motorcycles, scooters and bicycles.
"We're really in a unique category — all-alone driving," he said.
Early Arizona marketing presence
The company doesn't have a store or even a booth at Scottsdale Fashion Square. It's more like a vehicle on display with a representative available to answer questions.
Scottsdale is the third marketing presence for Solo, after small kiosks or storefronts that opened recently at two upscale malls in the Los Angeles area.
Rivera said the company identified Arizona as an early market to pursue based in part on electric-vehicle testing and manufacturing now happening here.
The Solo lists for $18,500, and the company is accepting refundable $250 deposits at electrameccanica.com.
"We should be getting keys in the hands of the first customers by the end of the third quarter or beginning of the fourth," said Rivera, who added there's a lengthy waiting list already. "If you order now, you'd probably be looking at getting one by the middle of next year," he said.
Possible Arizona connection
One potential issue is the possibility of tariffs of around 27.5% on vehicle imports from China, although Rivera said American buyers still would be looking at a purchase price of around $18,500.
Nevertheless, the tariff threat and other potential fallout from a widening U.S.-China trade rift has convinced ElectraMeccanica management of the need to start an assembly line in the U.S. The company is considering Arizona for such a factory, along with sites in a few other states, Rivera said.
While the prime market for Solos likely would be the more than 100 million Americans who commute alone, Rivera said he believes some commercial services from cable-television technicians to pizza-delivery drivers to parking-lot security attendants also might be interested.
And while the Solo was conceived well before the coronavirus outbreak, Rivera believes the vehicle could get a boost from that, too.
"Coming out of the pandemic, people will be concerned about using mass transit or getting into an Uber or Lyft," he said. "It's the perfect vehicle to solve a lot of urban driving challenges."
Reach the reporter at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.
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