Investment-Starved EV Maker Aptera Pulls Plug
By Scott Doggett December 5, 2011
Five years after its founding, would-be electric vehicle maker Aptera has decided to call it quits. The decision followed the Southern California company's inability to raise $150 million in private investment to activate a federally guaranteed loan commitment for an additional $150 million. The government funds were not for Aptera's sensational 2e -- a widely publicized three-wheeled, bicycle-fendered, teardrop-shaped electric vehicle -- but rather a prototype midsize four-door electric sedan (top) the company had quietly developed using the same composite materials and electric-drive technology appearing in the three-wheeler, CEO Paul Wilbur told AutoObserver. It was the sedan that had won the company the U.S. Department of Energy's commitment for a $150 million loan guarantee, conditioned on the company raising a matching amount.
"The economy just wasn't with us," Wilbur said. "We were hampered by the global economic condition and by a strict non-disclosure agreement with the Energy Department" that prohibited Aptera from telling potential investors about the matching loan. He said the prototype Aptera sedan's aerodynamically efficient design gave it a world's best 0.18 coefficient of drag (Cd); by comparison, the Toyota Prius has a Cd around 0.25. The super aerodynamics helped the sedan achieve 130 miles of range on its lithium-ion battery and 190 mpg-equivalent in overall fuel economy, Wilbur said. He added that the sedan used an industry-first direct recharging system that allowed the car to be recharged directly from any 240-volt outlet in about an hour.
A123 Systems Inc. was to supply the sedan's batteries. Aptera's closure dealt the battery maker a second financial blow in as many months. In November, A123 slashed its revenue forecast for 2011 to $165 million to $180 million, down from $210 million to $225 million, due to fewer than expected orders for battery packs from Fisker Automotive during the fourth quarter. "We have seen the future" with the proposed Aptera sedan, said Wilbur. Going forward, "we want to finish what we started," added marketing director Marques McCammon. But there are no plans at the moment to press on with a new company.
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