With a driving vary of round 100 miles on a full cost, a physique smaller than the ill-fated Good ForTwo and simply three wheels, the ElectraMeccanica Solo EV was touted as the answer to boring commutes. The corporate’s CEO, Jerry Kroll, even went so far as saying that the diminutive battery-powered metropolis runabout can be “as ubiquitous because the iPhone inside a 12 months.”
That was in 2018. Now, The vast majority of Solo EVs are ending up in an Arizona scrapyard, as @startupslick on TikTok just lately found (and was then lined by The Autopian). However why?
Solo in case you select to maintain your Solo
ElectraMeccanica’s voluntary buyback program for the 429 Solo EVs affected by a difficulty that would result in a lack of motive energy is simply that: voluntary. Which means you may nonetheless see third-gen Solos pop up on the market from individuals who wished to maintain them as an alternative of promoting them again to the producer. That mentioned, in case you plan on shopping for one, bear in mind that there is no assist by any means from its maker.
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The brief reply is that the corporate began a voluntary buyback program for 429 items which may immediately lose motive energy. Why didn’t they simply do a traditional recall, like automobile corporations often do? Nicely, ElectraMeccanica didn’t truly know repair the difficulty, so that they selected to purchase again the affected three-wheelers from their homeowners.
And it’s these items that ended up the the Arizona junkyard you see within the TikTok video embedded under. In keeping with the uploader, who mentioned he talked to a scrapyard worker, the EVs can’t be parted out–aside from the seats–so their destiny will in the end be the crusher.
ElectraMeccanica truly constructed extra items than the 429 that had been a part of the voluntary buyback program and even received to the supply half, which is often essentially the most troublesome one to undertake in case you’re a startup.
The only-seaters which might be piling up within the junkyard had been in-built China by ElectaMeccanica’s strategic investor, Zongshen Industrial Group, which assembled one other 300 items previous to beginning U.S. deliveries, however these EVs had been reportedly scrapped, in keeping with Robert Dunn of Growing old Wheels, who owns two Solos.
The corporate unveiled the manufacturing mannequin in 2016 and a 12 months later, restricted (hand-built) manufacturing started in Vancouver, Canada. About 180 of those first-gen fashions had been assembled however nearly 40 or so reached prospects, in keeping with numerous stories on-line. Then, in 2019, manufacturing of the second-gen model started in China–these 300 or so items that weren’t truly bought, with the third-gen mannequin lastly hitting the meeting line in 2021.
ElectraMeccanica Solo Ev 8
Deliveries within the U.S. began in the identical 12 months, however even when the difficulty that led to the recall and subsequent buyback had been mounted, the Solo EV was a tricky tablet to swallow from the get-go. With a beginning worth of $18,500 and an inside that seemed just like the Fisher Worth model of a Chevrolet Spark–to not point out it may solely seat one individual–it wasn’t a very engaging deal.
As for why didn’t ElectraMeccanica repair the vehicles as an alternative of scrapping them, it’s unclear, but it surely may need to do with the truth that the model was bought by electrical truck firm Xos, which seemingly doesn’t need to have something to do with the ill-fated three-wheelers.
In a response to an electronic mail despatched by The Drive, a Xos consultant mentioned: “Following the recall, buyback, and ElectraMeccanica’s cessation of gross sales, the autos had been disposed of partly through the power in [the] linked video. Following the acquisition by Xos, ElectraMeccanica’s few remaining operations have been wound down.”
It’s value noting that you may nonetheless see some third-gen Solo EVs pop up on the market occasionally, seeing how the buyback was voluntary, however in case you’re attempting to persuade your self that it’s a great deal, keep in mind that there’s completely no assist from the manufacturing unit anymore.
In different phrases, you’d be solo in your journey.
