L.a. Auto Show...gimme Input

[Husker1]

Here's what I got awhile back:

Dear Kevin,

As many of you know, the journey of bringing the Elio to market has been an awesome undertaking in which many milestones have been achieved. The engineering is almost complete, the factory is secured, our supplier and service partners are engaged, and we have multiple opportunities for funding to finish the project.

As I have stated in many interviews, the Elio isn’t just about its fuel efficiency or low price, there is no magic to achieving those goals, it’s about the people. The Elio is about the reservation holders that support the project, the many suppliers that have come together to making this happen, the immediate impact on our environment and most importantly bringing back American manufacturing jobs. We think all of the success in engineering, partnerships and support to this point is because the Elio is much more than just a vehicle; it is a movement.

We want to say thank you for your support as well as your understanding of the magnitude of our project. The thank you, which is effective today, is in an additional reservation bonus for those of you that have been with us the longest.

• If your All In reservation or upgrade was made before January 1st, 2014 we will give you an additional 35% when you come buy your Elio. So, instead of receiving 50% bonus on top of your All In reservation amount, this elite group of reservation holders will be receiving 85% of your reservation amount as a thank you for believing in the vision and giving us your support from the very beginning.
• If you have an All In reservation or upgrade from January 1st, 2014 through June 30th 2014, we will add 20% to your reservation bonus taking it to a total of 70%.
• The final group that will receive the reservation and upgrade bonus is for those All In reservation holders from July 1st through December 31st, 2014. If you are in this group, you will receive an additional 15%. This will take your reservation bonus up to a total of 65%.

The reservation bonus is from Elio Motors and it will be reflected in your final invoice for your Elio. The system date for your All In reservation or upgrade will be automatically reflected when you purchase your Elio.

If you have any questions, please email us at the reservation holders only support email - futureowners@eliomotors.com.

Again, thank you for believing in and supporting Elio Motors,

Paul Elio

That's the one! Thanks for posting it.

 

[cantwait]

Wow, I thought it was 15, 10 and 5%, not 35, 20 and 15% BONUS!!!

So I take back the $650; you'll be getting $850 Bonus for a total of $1,850 against the final cost of the vehicle. (Your $1K deposit plus the $850 off the expected $6,800 = $4,950)

7600 MSRP @ 125,000 units production
800 AMT
200 Misc Options
750 Delivery
750 Sales Tax
10100 Total
(850)Reservation Discount
9250 Net Price
(1000)Deposit
8250 Balance due

 

[slinches]

Or for me:
6800 Base price (hey, I'm optimistic)
no options (I'll be installing a few of my own)
750 delivery
600 Sales Tax
8150 Total
(500) Reservation Discount (assuming I eventually pull the trigger before the discount is shut off)
7650 Net Price
(1000) Deposit
6650 Balance due

 

[cantwait]

Or for me:
6800 Base price (hey, I'm optimistic)
no options (I'll be installing a few of my own)
750 delivery
600 Sales Tax
8150 Total
(500) Reservation Discount (assuming I eventually pull the trigger before the discount is shut off)
7650 Net Price
(1000) Deposit
6650 Balance due

It's good to be optimistic. If you don't have it all saved, maybe the balance can go on the gas credit card plan.

I've bought a few new and used vehicles. If you can get by with $200 in options, you will be doing great. They still have to be paid for, whether they are added by the dealer, or purchased aftermarket and installed on your own.

Paul has been telling us for a while that the $6800 MSRP is a target that they have not met, and the gap has been widening. I'd say hope for the $6800 if you wish, but budget for $7600. And the options, etc.

 

[JEBar]

Or for me:
6800 Base price (hey, I'm optimistic)
no options (I'll be installing a few of my own)
750 delivery
600 Sales Tax
8150 Total
(500) Reservation Discount (assuming I eventually pull the trigger before the discount is shut off)
7650 Net Price
(1000) Deposit
6650 Balance due

for us:

I really don't care

by the time ours rolls off the line I'll be 70 +/- .... unless something totally unanticipated happens, this will be the only one we ever buy .... consequently, we will look at the options available and add those interest us .... the price will be, what it will be .... if it turns out to be what we are comfortable with, we will pay down what we can and finance the rest

 

[John Painter]

It's good to be optimistic. If you don't have it all saved, maybe the balance can go on the gas credit card plan.

I've bought a few new and used vehicles. If you can get by with $200 in options, you will be doing great. They still have to be paid for, whether they are added by the dealer, or purchased aftermarket and installed on your own.

Paul has been telling us for a while that the $6800 MSRP is a target that they have not met, and the gap has been widening. I'd say hope for the $6800 if you wish, but budget for $7600. And the options, etc.

What are you basing that on? Elio Motors was within $500 of the target MSRP last January and continuing to work towards that target and believed they could get there. EM also confirmed that current price point and movement towards goal in their SEC filing.

 

[slinches]

Agreed, the message at this point seems to be that meeting the base price target is only contingent upon demand being high enough to support the full 250k first year production rate. I don't see why it wouldn't be with 20% of that already accounted for in reservations. I would expect reservations to double or more as production nears, which would mean that the 150k rate would almost be fully accounted for before the first Elio comes off the line. Add a few big fleet orders in and some general interest as they start to hit the roads and 250k seems very doable.

 

[Rickb]

It's good to be optimistic. If you don't have it all saved, maybe the balance can go on the gas credit card plan.

I've bought a few new and used vehicles. If you can get by with $200 in options, you will be doing great. They still have to be paid for, whether they are added by the dealer, or purchased aftermarket and installed on your own.

Paul has been telling us for a while that the $6800 MSRP is a target that they have not met, and the gap has been widening. I'd say hope for the $6800 if you wish, but budget for $7600. And the options, etc.

Most of us could have cash saved in the time it will take to see the first Elio roll of the assembly line.

Start your own gas CASH plan now by putting the money that you are saving today filling your tank with cheap $2.00/gal gas compared to $3-4 +/gal when the Elio reservation program started.

A smaller 15 gal tank would equate to $15-30 savings put into your Elio cash account every time you fill. $120/month, $1440/year, minimum $2880 by the anticpated production date. If you are driving a gas guzzler with dual 20 gallon tanks you may be able to buy 2 Elio's.

 

[cantwait]

What are you basing that on? Elio Motors was within $500 of the target MSRP last January and continuing to work towards that target and believed they could get there. EM also confirmed that current price point and movement towards goal in their SEC filing.

From Page 11 of the Preliminary Offering Circular: Based on the current prototype and sources for components, the retail price is approximately $7,600, but we are working to achieve the $6,800 targeted retail price.
From facebook.com/eliomotors:
https://www.facebook.com/ElioMotors...offset=0&total_comments=99&comment_tracking={"tn"%3A"R"%7D
Elio Motors Steve Phillips right now, we are within $300 of our targeted price and we're still cutting down
smile emoticon
14 · December 16, 2013 at 8:21am

Two years ago, we were told that they were within $300 of the target MSRP, and were told $500 in January as you stated. Now, in August and October, it is $800. Why would this be a problem? Were we promised $6800? They said two years ago that the $6800 was a target, and they have kept us informed as to how close or far they are from hitting the target. Right now, they are $800 off.

 

[slinches]

Here's the full quote from the Preliminary Offering Circular:

Based on the current prototype and sources for components, the retail price is approximately $7,600, but we are working to achieve the $6,800 targeted retail price. Bill-of-materials (BOM) cost is the largest component of the retail price for the Elio vehicle. At the prototype phase of any automotive vehicle program it is quite customary to have a gap to a design BOM cost target. The cost targets for the Elio have been set based on the management team’s collective past experience in sourcing hundreds of automotive components.

Actual BOM costs can vary up or down during vehicle development as engineering changes are made and validated through testing. Through continuous product refinement during vehicle development, supplier negotiation closer to production and scale economies post-production, this cost gap is typically bridged. While design-decision driven costs are within our control, the commodity price fluctuations driven by energy prices are beyond our control. Additionally, the estimated $7,600 retail price is based on a 125,000 annual production volume and a BOM cost target of $5,654 that management expects to achieve at start of production. At 250,000 annual sales, we believe we can achieve the target $6,800 retail price due to lowered BOM costs (a target BOM cost of $5,132) resulting from economies of scale. Our management believes that based on the public response received to date, selling 250,000 vehicles per year at the $6,800 retail price is achievable.

Cantwait, yours is the most pessimistic interpretation of that statement possible. Expecting the $6800 price point is certainly optimistic, but claiming that they are further off than they ever have been on price is pessimism that strains credulity. Actually, I'm amazed that they're predicting a BOM cost below the $6800 target at this point in the development process. EM is finally at a point where the vast majority of components have real initial quotes which usually come in a bit high, especially for sole source contracts.

ETA: No insult intended there, by the way. I don't question your sincerity in the least. I just don't see how you come to your conclusions. Of course, I would still buy one at $7600 if I'm wrong and that ends up being the asking price.