Aptera Off to D.C. to Seek Loan Eligibility for Unconventional Advanced Vehicles
By John O'Dell March 13, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Dismayed to discover that its three-wheeled electric commuter vehicle won't qualify for federal green car manufacturing loans under present policies, California-based Aptera Motors says it is heading to Washington to try to get the rules changed.
The company says it wants a level playing field so it can competitively manufacture its teardrop-shaped, lightweight Aptera 2e (left). The vehicle, still in the per-production prototype stage of development, can travel up to 100 miles on a single charge of its batteries and deliver the fuel efficiency equivalent of 200 miles per gallon.
Aptera has slated production to begin at its North San Diego County headquarters and assembly facility in October.
But the federal Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan program, which has $25 billion to foster manufacturing of the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles, is only open to applicants that make automobiles and related components.
By law, the Aptera and other three-wheeled vehicles are motorcycles, not cars, and thus not eligible for the loan program.
"We've received financial backing from funders like Google and IdeaLab, and now we'd like to tell our story of breakthrough aerodynamic design and efficiency on Capitol Hill," Aptera President and CEO Paul Wilbur (right) said in a statement released late Thursday evening.
"Aptera can change everyday commuter driving forever, and even though we're a relative newcomer, we're confident our vision, purpose and results will compel federal lawmakers to rally around our cause and embrace efficiency in federal policy," said Wilbur, a former Chrysler executive who also headed independent automaker Saleen and components manufacturer ASC Technologies.
Wilbur's Washington itinerary is unclear. But his plea for inclusion of the battery-electric Aptera 2e in the federal advanced-vehicle funding program has won backing from two California congressmen, which should help open doors.
Reps. Adam Schiff, a Pasadena Democrat, and Brian P. Bilbray, a Solano Beach (San Diego County) Republican, have introduced legislation that would open the loan program to companies like Aptera that build high-efficiency vehicles that don't conform to the conventional idea of an automobile.
The measure would include in the loan eligibility manufacturers of closed-cabin, two- and three-wheeled vehicles that deliver the equivalent of at lat 75 miles per gallon fuel efficiency.
The 1,700-pound Aptera 2e, a two-seat commuter vehicle with an aerodynamic shape reminiscent of a wingless, tail-less airplane, is expected to start at $25,000 and with options and new powertrains being developed could run as high as $45,000.
The company said it already is developing a plug-in hybrid version of the two-seater and has plans for hybrid and battery-electric four-passenger models as well.
Aptera Motors says that more than 4,000 prospective buyers have submitted refundable $500 deposits for the Aptera 2e battery-electric model.
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