ElectraMeccanica may not be a name familiar to many. That’s okay. In recent years the company has been putting together the funding and manufacturing relationships it needs to produce electric vehicles. Today, a press release announced that its production versions of its flagship vehicle, the Solo, are now rolling out. 

What is the Solo

The Solo is an all-electric autocycle (a three-wheeled vehicle). It is designed as transportation for a single occupant within an enclosed cabin. The vehicles have a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 80 mph. They can recharge to 90 percent in 2.5 hours, according to their website.

The small size of the electric Solo can raise questions about safety for the occupant. Understanding this, ElectraMeccanica designed the Solo to have front and rear crumple zones, side-impact protection, and a roll bar. These are vital to making the consumer feel at ease.  

Comfort is another aspect that the manufacturer looked at. So, the Solo is not a bare-bones type of vehicle. Instead, it comes with power steering, power brakes, power windows, air conditioning, rear-view camera, and a Bluetooth entertainment system. Basically, it comes with what you would expect from any modern economical vehicle. No corners were cut. The ElectraMeccanica website describes the electric Solo as, “Safer than a motorcycle, cooler than a car.” The starting price is for the Solo is $18,500.

Production of the all-electric Solo

Production of the Solo electric vehicle officially began in August, according to the press release. Two production versions were used at a press event in mid-October. Additional early production vehicles were used, and are still being used, for testing and at corporate or marketing events. Avoiding putting all their eggs in one basket, the company has also used some of the early run vehicles to determine the logistics of international shipping and port processing. 

“We are continuing with our planned, methodical ramp-up in production to ensure quality and consistency. While we have encountered certain hurdles through this growth process, our team is hard at work making select supply chain and technical improvements. We have extended our customer delivery schedule into early 2021. Safety, customer care, and the ‘Drive SOLO’ experience are paramount. With the help of our experienced partner, we are confident we can continue to move quickly and meet our increasing customer demand.” – ElectraMeccanica CEO Paul Rivera

More retail locations for the all-electric Solo

ElectraMeccanica will open six more locations across California and Arizona in the coming months. That is in addition to the four other retail stores that have already been established electric vehicles. As the visibility of the Solo increases, additional locations will be considered. 

It may be the right time for a vehicle like the electric Solo. Many people are traveling less with the current regional restrictions in place for the global COVID-19 pandemic. Also, many people have been able to transition their jobs to work-at-home situations. So, a large vehicle may not be conducive to many people’s purposes anymore. Other people only travel a few miles daily. So, a Solo can also be ideal in those situations. Either way, the Solo seems to be one of the less pricey ways to enter the commuter vehicles’ all-electric genre. Additionally, the Solo is not a pie-in-the-sky promise. Instead, it is here amongst us now. This real, all-electric autocycle might be the next big (or small) thing.