CleanOregon

We recently had a chance to speak with Arcimoto founder Mark Frohnmayer.  Arcimoto is a Eugene Oregon based electric vehicle manufacturer.  The company has developed a prototype vehicle and is raising money to start production.

The discussion focused more on transportation trends than on Arcimoto’s actual product.  I was prepared to discuss how the company’s vehicles compare to competitors, especially vehicles being built by traditional automotive manufacturers like Nissan.

During the discussion, something new sunk in.  There are two types of EV producers.  There are those companies (e.g., Nissan) working to build EVs that serve as substitutes for the type of cars that we currently use.  The Leaf, for example, is a four seater that won’t dramatically change how we use a car (from the perspective of what we actually drive).

The other type of EV producer really isn’t, at the most fundamental level, an EV producer.  Companies like Arcimoto are looking at the issue of transportation from another angle.  They are looking to build vehicles for specific purposes.

The first Arcimoto vehicle is focused on the daily commuter.  It’s a two seat vehicle designed for short commuter trips around town.  Arcimoto happens to use EV technology to make this possible.

My first reaction was that this is a niche market.  How many commuters will truly be willing to give up their larger vehicles for a limited purpose car?  Then again, it just might be a very large market.  The Portland City Auditor recently reported that two-thirds of commuters in Portland are single passenger drivers (and this is ultra-green Portland).  It just might be possible to convince a large number of these commuters to switch to smaller scale vehicles over the next several years.  It is certainly logical. (In the real world, not everyone is going to ride a bike or use public transportation…)

The biggest barrier will likely be cost.  The Arcimoto Pulse will be sold for “under $20,000.”  That still seems expensive for a dedicated commuter vehicle.  Hopefully, at scale, the company will be able to explore much lower price points.

In this sense, Arcimoto is exploring transportation from a very different angle.  It is focused on consumer behavior and building cars to match that behavior (versus building EVs that match current modes of transportation).  Arcimoto is working to define Transportation 2.0 – versus simply building EVs that essentially mimic vehicles on the road today.

We applaud the effort and are rooting for you.