Elio Motors

Elio Motors
Private
Traded as OTCQX: ELIO
Industry Automobile
Founded 2009
Founder Paul Elio
Headquarters Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Number of locations
 3 Shreveport, Louisiana Livonia, Michigan Phoenix, Arizona
Area served
 United States
Key people
 Paul Elio, founder and CEO
James Holden, Board Member
David C. Schembri, Board Member
Kenneth L. Way, Board Member
Stuart Lichter, Board Member
Hari Iyer, Board Member
Products Three-wheel motor vehicles
Owner Paul Elio
Website www.eliomotors.com
A white Elio viewed from the side
Side view of 3rd generation Elio prototype
Paul Elio sitting in the P4 prototype of an Elio.
Elio Motors Prototypes with the first of the E-Series vehicles

Elio Motors is an automobile company founded by Paul Elio in 2009. The three-wheeled Elio is engineered to attain a highway mileage rating of up to 84 mpg while providing the comfort of the amenities such as power windows, a power door lock, cruise control, and air conditioning accompanied by the safety of multiple air bags and an aerodynamic, enclosed vehicle body. Elio's first manufacturing site will be Shreveport, Louisiana.

Specifications

Elio Motors plans to manufacture a three-wheeled vehicle (two wheels in front, one in back) with a US $7,300 (for the first 65,000 reservations) base price. It is projected to achieve up to 84 MPG-US (2.8 L/100 km) on the highway and up to 49 MPG in the city. It is an alternative, low-cost, high-mileage option for a wide variety of consumers. There are currently four prototypes and three validation vehicles (codename E1-A, E1-C, and E1-D) to test for safety, aerodynamics and durability. Even though the E1-C is not used for testing, it plays an important role in their future. It is significantly closer to a production model than P5, with updated interior and a cosmetically-evolved engine. Once the testing phase is concluded, the company will build 100 pre-production fleet vehicles at its Shreveport, Louisiana, manufacturing facility.

The three wheeler will be equipped with standard features such as AC/Heat (manufactured by RedDOT), AM/FM stereo, power windows/door lock, cruise control, three airbags, a reinforced steel roll cage, side intrusion beams, stability control, and disc brakes with ABS. Continental AG has created a tire specifically for the Elio. The Elio is being engineered to the meet motorcycle standards because its three-wheel design falls under the U.S. government motorcycle classification. The company has lobbied, in most states, to alter regulations that would otherwise require drivers to wear a helmet and, in many states, to remove the requirement for operators to have a motorcycle endorsement on their driver license.[1][2][3]

The design specification includes a target curb weight of 1,350 lb (610 kg); three-wheel anti-lock disc brakes; an inline 0.9 liter three cylinder (designed especially for Elio by IAV), 55 horsepower (41 kW) engine; and front-wheel drive, with a top speed of 107 mph (172 km/h) and an acceleration of 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in approximately 9.6 seconds. The vehicle has an overall length of 160.5 inches (4.08m) and an overall height of 54.2 inches. The front track is 66.8 inches with a wheelbase of 110 inches. The trunk space is 27 x 14 x 10 inches, enough for an airline carry-on bag or a golf bag with the rear seat down (47+ inches).[4]

Production

Elio Motors is based in Phoenix, Arizona and is preparing to manufacture its vehicles in Shreveport, Louisiana, using a portion of the former General Motors 3.2 million-square-foot plant.[5] It is estimated that upwards of 1,500 will be directly employed at Shreveport facility plus an additional 1,500 at the supply base, Elio Motors corporate, sales and service once full production is underway, plus approximately 18,000 indirect jobs nationwide are projected to be created or sustained. In addition, Elio Motors is targeting 90% North American content on its vehicle.

A supply chain is in place to allow for a rapid ramp-up when projected production begins. 100 pre-production fleet vehicles were scheduled to be produced in December 2016, however CEO Paul Elio recently stated targeted production of the fleet vehicles had been postponed until late 2017. Supplier partners include AISIN, Roush, Comau, Continental, Cooper Standard, RedDOT, Hyundai DYMOS, Henkel and IAV. As of October 24, 2016, production on the first 100 has not yet begun. The anticipated official service provider for Elio Motors is Pep Boys which can provide a nationwide network for vehicle service with more than 800 service centers and 7,500 service bays in 35 states. The company started accepting customer reservations on its website in January 2013 and has 60,000 as of October 5, 2016.

Criticism and Controversies

Elio Motors has pushed back the release date of the vehicle, which was initially slated for 2014. The date had once been pushed back to 2015, and again moved to 2016. They are now saying that production will begin in 2017.[6] This date has made automotive analysts question the company's ability to deliver this car on time. In effort to secure a Department of Energy loan, Elio is offering advance reservations where the buyer can reserve a spot in line to possibly purchase a vehicle for a base price of $7,300, if they are ever made (rather than the originally targeted price of $6,800). But, if you 'lock-in' (which is a promise to buy the car when it hits production), the price will be $7,000; in order to reach 65,000 'locked-in' reservations. This would show the DOE that people are serious about buying the Elio. However, Elio Motors has yet to provide proof that their vehicle can meet the milage criteria for the loan, or show that their operation can finance itself without the loan, both of which are criteria clearly stated in the requirements. [7]

References

External links

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