With a driving vary of round 100 miles on a full cost, a physique smaller than the ill-fated Sensible 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 yr.”
That was in 2018. Now, Nearly all of Solo EVs are ending up in an Arizona scrapyard, as @startupslick on TikTok lately found (and was then coated by The Autopian). However why?
Solo if you happen to select to maintain your Solo
ElectraMeccanica’s voluntary buyback program for the 429 Solo EVs affected by a problem that would result in a lack of motive energy is simply that: voluntary. Meaning you would nonetheless see third-gen Solos pop up on the market from individuals who needed to maintain them as a substitute of promoting them again to the producer. That stated, if you happen to plan on shopping for one, bear in mind that there is not any help in anyway from its maker.
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The brief reply is that the corporate began a voluntary buyback program for 429 items which may abruptly lose motive energy. Why didn’t they only do a standard recall, like automotive firms normally do? Properly, ElectraMeccanica didn’t really know learn how to repair the difficulty, in order 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 beneath. In keeping with the uploader, who stated he talked to a scrapyard worker, the EVs can’t be parted out–apart from the seats–so their destiny will in the end be the crusher.
ElectraMeccanica really constructed extra items than the 429 that have been a part of the voluntary buyback program and even received to the supply half, which is normally probably the most tough one to undertake if you happen to’re a startup.
The one-seaters which are piling up within the junkyard have been inbuilt China by ElectaMeccanica’s strategic investor, Zongshen Industrial Group, which assembled one other 300 items previous to beginning U.S. deliveries, however these EVs have been reportedly scrapped, in line with Robert Dunn of Growing old Wheels, who owns two Solos.
The corporate unveiled the manufacturing mannequin in 2016 and a yr later, restricted (hand-built) manufacturing started in Vancouver, Canada. About 180 of those first-gen fashions have been assembled however nearly 40 or so reached clients, in line with numerous reviews on-line. Then, in 2019, manufacturing of the second-gen model started in China–these 300 or so items that weren’t really offered, 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 yr, however even when the difficulty that led to the recall and subsequent buyback had been fastened, the Solo EV was a troublesome tablet to swallow from the get-go. With a beginning value of $18,500 and an inside that appeared just like the Fisher Value model of a Chevrolet Spark–to not point out it may solely seat one particular person–it wasn’t a very enticing deal.
As for why didn’t ElectraMeccanica repair the automobiles as a substitute of scrapping them, it’s unclear, but it surely may must do with the truth that the model was bought by electrical truck firm Xos, which seemingly doesn’t wish to have something to do with the ill-fated three-wheelers.
In a response to an e mail despatched by The Drive, a Xos consultant stated: “Following the recall, buyback, and ElectraMeccanica’s cessation of gross sales, the automobiles have 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 price noting that you would nonetheless see some third-gen Solo EVs pop up on the market every so often, seeing how the buyback was voluntary, however if you happen to’re attempting to persuade your self that it’s a very good deal, keep in mind that there’s completely no help from the manufacturing facility anymore.
In different phrases, you’d be solo in your journey.
