The Elio is a cheap to own, fun to drive and easy to maintain daily commuter, but the company is relying on a $185 Million Government loan to get the vehicle across to the customers! Paul Elio, Founder and CEO of Elio Motors, revealed that his firm is waiting for the DOEATVM to sanction the loan amount, which will enable the $6,800 three-wheeler to be available at dealerships.
The people are certainly waiting for the Elio and Paul has already accepted 35,000 pre-bookings from around the country. The booking amount is a measly $500, 85% of which is non-refundable. The Elio might not be a performance-stalwart, but it surely is fun to drive. However, if you are ever dissatisfied with the performance of this vehicle and its shortcomings as a grocery-getter, just think about the 80 MPG fuel economy or $6,800 price tag!
The biggest concern right now is neither performance nor safety, but whether this vehicle will make it to the road. We have word that the Elio has cleared three rounds of extensive testing, although, it still has a long way to go before the US Government clears the loan amount.
The ATVM has been lying dormant for over three years now, thanks to the double bonanza it suffered at the hands of Fisker and Solyndra. The wing is hence under a lot of pressure from the US Government to try and recover some of its heavy losses. This has also directly resulted in them being more careful while scrutinizing the possible scenario of the company’s future.
We are not aware of Paul Elio’s Plan B if the ATVM disapproves of the loan application by any chance, although, it is possible that he has one. Elio Motors plans to operate out of Shreveport, Louisiana, from General Motors’ old setup. Paul is looking forward to making Millions out of selling GM’s old equipments that they will not require on the Elio build. However, this is still not enough to fund the entire project.
Paul revealed that the Government can lend money freely to established companies such as Nissan and Ford due to their reputation and scale of business operation. Investing in a new venture is always a risky proposition, although, Elio Motors has the capability to make it huge. Tesla is the only automaker in recent American history to return the loan amount long before the due period.
Paul is currently busy hosting suppliers in order to keep the costs bottled up. Paul further revealed that the Elio is up for a turbocharged version in the future, although, it could take a while to make it to production.
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