New electric carmaker going ‘Solo’ with single-passenger, 3-wheeled car opens first U.S. dealership in Studio City
In a state with a goal of 5 million electric vehicles on the roads by 2030, the idea of “strange” is being redefined in the expanding field of electric transportation with a funny-looking, three-wheeled, single-passenger car.
Game changer?
Not exactly. Some experts describe Electra Meccanica’s new “Solo” as a niche car that won’t change the paradigm of electrified transportation.
But, they say, it could push the envelope, stressing funky design and eye-catching innovation at a price — $16,000 — that appeals to a broader customer base.
‘Unusual’
The launch of the first three-wheeled, all-electric solo car in the U.S. is a sign that more unusual ideas — at lowered prices — are creeping into the EV marketplace, said Joel Levin of Plug In America and Mark Duvall of Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
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The Solo sells for about one-third less than the cheaper Tesla Model 3 sedan, and less than half the sticker price of EVs such as the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Bolt.
This car is certainly unusual, seating one person, the driver, with no room for anyone else. That is the first hurdle any car-buying customer must clear before signing on the dotted line.
“It’s just a matter of wrapping their heads around the single-passenger vehicle,” said Anthony Luzi, director of U.S. operations for Meccanica, a division of Electra Meccanica from Vancouver.
“Seventy-six percent of our commuters in the U.S. are single-passenger and 90 percent overall,” he said, speaking from the glassed in dealership. “No one has addressed that. We are the only ones right now.”
The company is selling the Solo from its first U.S. dealership, located in Studio City on Ventura Boulevard near Colfax Avenue.
‘Not a game changer’
Levin, executive director of Plug In America, an EV owner advocacy group, said the Solo won’t be a game changer like Tesla, whose sleek electric cars have outsold all luxury cars this year, including the gasoline models, and have made electric cars popular.
Solo is going in another direction, making the least expensive EV on the market.
Levin says building a car just for the driver makes it good for getting from Point A to Point B but with lower operational costs than a gas car.
“I think this car could have a niche with commuters or with people who want to get around their neighborhood,” he said on Monday.
“This is not a game-changer.”
To hear Luzi tell it, a lot of thought went into studying the market for the Solo. The company has 20,000 customers on its waiting list. Cars will be delivered through 2019, he said.
Environmental benefits
In an electric Solo, the driver wouldn’t be polluting the air. She would also use less energy than a five-passenger EV.
“The greatest detriment of an electric car is weight,” Luzi said. “A vehicle transporting one person will use less energy. We are limiting the amount of energy necessary to get that job accomplished,” he said.
A Chevy Volt weighs about 4,000 pounds and the Fiat 500e weighs 2,500 pounds. The Solo weighs about 1,500 pounds — less mass to move.
“I don’t have to worry about charging my car as often so I am not putting out as much emissions,” Luzi said.
The change from an internal combustion engine car to an electric car creates the biggest environmental benefit, according to Duvall, director of energy utilization at EPRI in Palo Alto. But smaller EVs are slightly less polluting than larger ones, he said.
“The reason to build small EVs is you don’t have a lot of battery requirement,” Duvall said during an interview Tuesday. Less battery weight equals less rolling resistance and therefore less energy used, he added.
‘Why three-wheels?’ is a question often asked of Luzi.
Duvall says that means less tire pollution spewed into the air. Tiny tire parts make up particle pollution, a serious air pollution component. Particulates can cause lung disease, heart disease and premature death, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Luzi agrees but says the engineering reason for three wheels — two in the front and one in the back — is to form a triangle, which stabilizes the car and prevents rollovers.
The triangle, when combined with 17.3 kilowatt hour lithium ion batteries down the center of the car helps the vehicle hug the road like a go-cart, he said. The car gets 100 miles on a single charge, like many other full-sized EVs on the road but far less than a Tesla.
With only three wheels, it registers as a motorcycle with the DMV.
As such, the car has no air bags, though Luzi said it passed rigorous safety crash tests.
Untapped market?
What attracts people is a combination of the low price and green technology.
Some like the unusual car’s attention-grabbing design: “Not only is it cool looking, it is about doing the right thing — protecting the environment,” Luzi said.
What’s most important to Duvall, who has studied EVs for 30 years, is the opening up of the marketplace. Forbes reports 49 electric car startups exist in China alone. Most are high-end and apparently none are making single-passenger EVs.
“We should not prejudge what is needed or not needed. We should look at that (Solo) with an open mind, especially as the EVs emerge; they are changing rapidly, ” Duvall said.
The low price is an attempt to move the needle from upper-middle class luxury car buyers to middle class car customers who want to save money on their commute.
“People say I can never afford a Tesla. Then they see this car and say: ‘I didn’t know I could spend $16,000 and get an electric car,’ ” Luzi said.
Solo FAQs
• What is it: A single-passenger electric car with three wheels
• What makes it go? 17.3 kilowatt lithium ion batteries; 82 horsepower electric motor; rear-wheel drive
• How does it charge? Gets 100 miles on a single charge. Charging is through a 240-volt Level 2 charger or a 110-volt wall outlet
• How do you learn more? Go to EMVAUTO.com or to get on waiting list
• Is the company public or private: Public. Traded under stock symbol NASDAQ: SOLO