Aptera still believes it will be able to put the 2-e into production, says a senior official, though it is counting on a federal loan.
Reports of Aptera’s demise are being greatly exaggerated, insists a senior company official – with apologies to Mark Twain.
The California-based Aptera, which has been struggling to roll out the 200 mpg 2-e battery-electric vehicle, was stung by widespread reports – including coverage on TheDetroitBureau.com — suggesting it faced serious financial problems after an announcement it would refund more than 2,200 deposits placed by motorists interested in the three-wheeled 2-e.
But while “It is taking longer than we’d like” to get into production, Aptera Chief Marketing Officer Marques McCammon tells TheDetroitBureau.com that “We can get there.” The company is determined to bring the gull-winged green machine to market.
McCammon confirms that the biggest problem is the slow pace of a review by the Department of Energy, from which Aptera hopes to secure a large – but unspecified – loan that will help it complete development of the 2-e and push it into production. Other start-ups echo the same concerns.
A multi-billion-dollar DoE program, initiated by the Obama Administration, has already funded a number of mainstream makers, including Nissan, as well as two of the most high-profile battery-car start-ups, Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive. But since then, the process has been dragging on for other applicants, such as Aptera.
There is “always a path” to keep the company viable without the federal loan, says McCammon, “but it (would be) a lot harder,” as potential private investors are more willing to come into a start-up, like Aptera, “side-by-side with the Department of Energy.”
On the other hand, he insists, if and when the federal loan is approved, Aptera could be in production “in 11 or 12 months.”
While most attention has been focused on the 2-e, a Jetsons-like battery-car that looks like a private aircraft with stubby wings, the DoE is studying an alternative product that Aptera has “not yet disclosed.” That could wind up coming to market before the 2-e, McCammon revealed.
The small California maker is developing dual powertrains for both products, battery-electric and extended-range electric, or as some prefer to call it, a plug-in hybrid system that would always use an electric motor to drive the vehicle’s wheels.
Questions about Aptera’s viability popped up on Monday after the maker announced it was refunding the more than 2,200 deposits it had taken on the 2-e. McCammon repeats the original announcement, asserting that the company’s credit card system would not allow it to continue holding the cash advances beyond 6 to 12 months. Those early supporters will now be placed in a VIP queue and will be able to take delivery – if the 2-e ever does go into production – in the same order as they would have under the original deposit program.
Barring further problems, Aptera is still moving ahead on a search for a new manufacturing site, explains the maker’s CMO. It recently said it would abandon plans to produce the 2-e in California. In an exclusive conversation with TheDetroitBureau.com, McCammon said the search for a new location has come down to sites in four Midwestern states: Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. A final decision is likely to be made in the months ahead.