Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, ElectraMeccanica designs and manufactures electric vehicles. While the prospect of another competitor entering the electric space might be white noise by now, ElectraMeccanica is turning heads with a three-wheeled, single passenger design it appropriately calls the Solo.
The flagship Solo EV is billed as an electric answer for the "urban environment.” It has a 100-mile range and can reach 80 miles per hour so that you can cruise for a bit as well.
In early May, the automaker announced that after spending more than a year looking for a U.S. location, it picked Mesa, Arizona, for a new assembly and engineering plant. According to the company, the new factory will create some 500 new jobs with a production goal of 20,000 Solo EVs every year.
According to the company, the plant will allow the company to "avoid cumbersome tariffs” by assembling Chinese-supplied knockdown kits for assembly. The move will also provide logistical efficiencies and mitigate risks with the global supply chain.
Knockdown kits are typically made overseas and exported for final assembly in another country.
Solo is small, but the price tag remains somewhat cumbersome as the MSRP is $18,500. The company is now taking reservations on its website with a $250 deposit.
With a full charge in less than four hours, Solo also can charge on standard 110-volt electrical outlets. However, the four-hour estimate calls for a 220-volt charge — eight hours on 110-volts will get you about a 60% charge.
The company has R&D based out of Canada, retail locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, and contract manufacturing at EMV Automotive Technology in China.
