  Shocker . . . NOT! Ambitious Aptera Delays 2e Electric Car, Reduces Staff
Reported by Car and Driver on Thursday, 19 November 2009 (on November 19, 2009)
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From the “Can’t Say We’re Surprised” Department comes a sullen announcement from Aptera Motors that it must delay the introduction of its teardrop-shaped 2e electric runabout until sometime next year. Indeed, when Aptera came out of its high-tech closet last year with the radical three-wheeler and said we would see it on the roads of California within about 18 months, we had a feeling that might be a tad too aggressive. The chief culprit? As it often is with projects this ambitious, it’s money, something in short supply these days for pretty much everyone, let alone fledgling start-up automobile manufacturers.
“We’re making significant progress every day with product refinements, the completion of engineering and design details, and securing meaningful strategic partnerships,” says Aptera president and CEO Paul Wilbur. “However, we now have to adjust our production schedule to align with financing realities. Properly managing the resources of the company means we’ll complete our first vehicles in 2010, not by the end of 2009 as previously projected.”
Indeed, considering today’s economic climate, which makes shaking money from trees—especially in cash-strapped California—tougher than shaking crazy from Amy WInehouse, Aptera’s setback was virtually unavoidable. Unfortunately, it also prompted layoffs of several employees as well as the temporary “stepping aside” of Aptera cofounders Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony. No word on how many of the claimed 4000 deposits might be canceled as a result of the delay.
We are assured, however, that the announcement is not a sign that the Aptera 2e program is running out of juice altogether. “It is going to happen,” asserts Aptera spokesman Jeff Green, whose press release reminds us that Wilbur has consistently maintained that “Aptera’s production and delivery will be tied directly to funding.”
Earlier in the year, Aptera lobbied hard to get funding from the Department of Transportation for the development of the 2e as an alternative-fuel vehicle, and while it was allegedly well-received by congressional types that saw it, the car was ineligible due to its three-wheeled design (only four-wheeled vehicles were eligible for the DOT grants at the time). According to Green, new provisions have been signed into law recently to make vehicles such as the 2e eligible to dig into the DOT’s money bags, and he says that the company is indeed going to reapply. Don’t expect the Aptera to appear until some time after the application is accepted.
As a West Coaster, I am personally pretty excited about the Aptera eventually making it from concept to reality. Since Aptera will not make an appearance at next month’s Los Angeles auto show, I am planning to shoot down to Vista in December or January to hopefully take another spin in an Aptera prototype—I drove one last March—and see the latest evolution of this highly evolved form of transportation, as well as get a better idea of exactly when in 2010 we can expect the 2e to hit the roads here in California, the only state in which the initial run of Apteras will be sold.
Related posts:Aptera 2e Electric Car Production and Pricing Announced – Car NewsDetroit Electric and Proton Plan Electric Cars for U.S., Other Markets in 2010 – Car News2010 Aptera 2e – First Drive Review
Links: Full news story
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