A potential manufacturing deal between a futuristic new electric car company and a condemned General Motors plant may help save both jobs and the environment.
According to Bloomberg, Electra Meccanica Vehicles Corp. is in talks to begin manufacturing its cutting-edge three-wheeled car, 'Solo,' in Oshawa, Ontario - where 3,000 people were slated to be laid off as a part of GM's global restructuring.
The firm has made a big splash with its single-rider electric vehicle over the past few years, and has so far logged 23,000 reservations form the public as of last December.
Combined with the company's larger model, the Tofino, a two-seat electric vehicle, Solo accounts for a formidable $2.4 billion in backlogged orders overall.
And with the Solo's stature comes an even smaller price tag of just US$15,500, that add to a host of other specs.
The Solo is powered by a lithium-ion battery that can go 160km on a charge.
It takes three hours to fully charge the battery using a 220-volt outlet or six hours using a 110-volt outlet, and has a top speed of 80 mph, going from zero to 100km/h in 8 seconds. This is equivalent to a Toyota Camry.
While Solo sales have been steady, adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. have been far more tepid.
According to the Edison Electric Institute, EEI, an association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, as of November 2018 there were just 1 million electric cars on U.S. roads, representing about 1 percent of the market.
In the U.S., the road to more widespread adoption of electric vehicles has been in part blockaded by pricing, limitations spurred by a lack of charging infrastructure, and consumers' dearth of information on what their potential options.
Nevertheless, projections for the future of electric vehicles remain optimistic.
Market research from J.P. Morgan released last October estimates that by 2025 electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles could account for as much as 30 percent of overall vehicles sales.
- Daily Mail