Independent American carmaker Elio Motors is busy working on the development of its three-wheeled autocycle which it officially calls as the E1A. But company founder and CEO Paul Elio still believes that everything boils down to getting more investors to secure additional funding for the continued development of the groundbreaking car.
Paul Elio took the opportunity provided by the investor relations firm, Liolios Group, to make a company presentation at the Gateway Conference held in San Francisco, California on September 7-8, 2016.
The stint enabled Paul Elio to get some excellent investment and funding prospects to Elio Motors, which would be crucial in financing the manufacture of the E1A.
Apart from a crowd-funding initiative last year, Elio Motors also secured the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program under the Department of Energy early this year.
However, as part of its commitment to that specific loan, Elio Motors needed to establish a complicated pricing scheme for the E1A.
From previously being priced at $6,800, the E1A retail price was made $7,000. The $200 increase also comes with a binding or lock-in commitment that would not allow the prospective buyer to change his or her mind about buying the vehicle.
With the so-called binding commitment, those who have placed pre-order on the E1A and shelled out $7,000 can no longer refund their money regardless whether the vehicle comes out on the market as scheduled later this year or not.
And customers who have fastened themselves with a non-refundable pre-order will have a final price of $7,300 for the two-seater car.
The importance of the Gateway Conference
The presentation of Paul Elio at the Gateway Conference is a perfect opportunity to secure additional funding and investments for Elio Motors as the event is described as one of the United States’ most exclusive financial conferences, linking companies with top institutional investors and analysts, reports Milled.
What makes the Gateway Conference different from other investor conferences is its unfiltered access and it was a perfect venue for Paul to present Elio Motor’s story.
The Elio Motor founder and CEO highlighted in his presentation the company’s steady growth in reservations for the E1A, the 486% growth in Facebook likes, and the selection of the E1A as the overwhelming favorite at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2015.
His best pitch to investors during the event is that Paul Elio promised that Elio Motors shall create jobs, strengthen their manufacturer base, and reduce dependence on foreign oil, which is undoubtedly very worthy goals.
Paul Elio also had one-on-one meetings with several investors and discussed the company’s recent milestones achieved in engineering as well as the established pricing and supply agreements as Elio Motors prepares for commercial production, notes Nasdaq Globe Newswire.
No fixed delivery date yet
Elio Motors still does not have a fixed delivery date for its autocycle although previous reports had said that it will come out in the fourth quarter of this year.
Incidentally, the binding commitment has bred speculations in the industry that the release of the autocycle may not happen in the fourth quarter of this year after all but on a much later time.
Apart from its very competitive price, the autocycle boasts of achieving a fuel efficiency of 84 mpg.
The independent carmaker is able to raise $25 million from crowdfunding to bankroll the production of its three-wheeled two-seater.
There is also a second pricing tier that Elio Motors is offering for the autocycle. It is also non-refundable and several hundreds of dollars more expensive than the first tier offer.
However, while the deposit is non-refundable, it does not contractually bind the customer like the first offer.
The price difference of $300 comes off as an incentive basically for the first offer. But those who will opt to take the second tier offer need to sign a form confirming that they will purchase the vehicle regardless of when it will officially come out on the market.