EV maker Electra Meccanica (EMV) will cease the production of its three-wheeled EV ‘Solo.’ Instead, EMV wants to focus on an electric car with four wheels.
“We believe that major opportunities remain for an experienced maker of smaller, nimbler EVs with eye-catching design and personalized features,” CEO Susan E. Docherty writes in a blog post to the company’s shareholders. She adds that she does not believe that a three-wheeled EV is the way to go, “given challenges ranging from its exclusion from government rebates; to the difficulty for consumers of insuring, financing and servicing a three-wheeled vehicle; to consistent customer requests for more functionality.”
The new electric car is (so far) called ‘Project E4.’ However, Docherty does not provide any additional details at the time.
The move comes after EMV concluded its manufacturing relationship with Zongshen, China, saying it was “not an economically sustainable arrangement.” Moreover, the start-up issued a voluntary recall for the ‘Solo’ in February, after it was reported that the vehicle would sometimes decelerate on its own.
“An instrument cluster warning light illuminates, and the driver will experience a loss of power as the vehicle decelerates as if removing their foot from the accelerator pedal,” the company wrote then.
The issue seems to have been fixed. EMV says that there are still about 800 ‘Solo’ in stock, which will still be sold, says Docherty.
Keyword: Electra Meccanica stops making its ‘Solo’, focuses on four-wheeled EV