Sondors Electric Car

[acentre]

no way to produce the product??? Elio at least has a factory already. Maybe Sondors could lease some space from Elio or Racer Trust or whoever owns the rest of the old GM plant...

Is the factory set up and ready to go? Instead of starting from scratch, Sondors will utilize existing vehicle manufactures, affording less capital for production. Elio squandered funds building a new motor and building numerous prototypes. I am not saying the Sondors will be successful either, but it does seem to be more efficient.

 

[RSchneider]

From what I have read, Sondors is going to have them built in China. That makes sense since China is way ahead of the rest of the planet when it comes to affordable electric cars and cycles. Then it works out for Sondors because they can sell them in China and not have the 28% tariff to deal with, like Elio will when they start going global. If the US did the same, then Sondors could lease the spot down in Shreveport that Elio is not going to use. With that, Shreveport would be the world leader in ICE and EV trikes.

 

[booboo]

https://jalopnik.com/this-could-be-the-car-for-everyone-let-down-by-elio-1820840933

 

[Maurtis]

https://jalopnik.com/this-could-be-the-car-for-everyone-let-down-by-elio-1820840933

Wow, was Jalopnik almost positive about something? Weird. I guess they get giddy when they can bash Elio some more.

 

[acentre]

From what I have read, Sondors is going to have them built in China. That makes sense since China is way ahead of the rest of the planet when it comes to affordable electric cars and cycles. Then it works out for Sondors because they can sell them in China and not have the 28% tariff to deal with, like Elio will when they start going global. If the US did the same, then Sondors could lease the spot down in Shreveport that Elio is not going to use. With that, Shreveport would be the world leader in ICE and EV trikes.

Not sure that the tariff is the problem,but rather the outfitting of a modern production line by a very small startup. The sales quantities that Elio was projecting did seem unrealistically high for such a niche product.

 

[Made in USA]

One consideration about the Sondors is that it has a single rear wheel that is driven by an electric motor. With this configuration I see traction issues on snow/ice. With such a short wheelbase it will tend to skid out of control easily. Even if they put some kind of anti-skid braking on the front wheels, that still doesn't prevent the rear trying to pass the front if a skid situation is happening. I would have liked to see front wheel drive on the Sondors instead. Yes, that would increase the cost, but the safety would also be better. If the "Autocar" legislation passes as currently written, the Sondors would be classified as a motorcycle due to the rear wheel drive. Unless different laws are passed, the Sondors would not be required to have air bags, seat belts, etc. While their prototype looks nice and the expected range is good, I don't see the government allowing it to be produced or imported under the current safety laws. Changes will have to be made probably by both Sondors and the law makers.

 

[Ty]

Is the factory set up and ready to go? Instead of starting from scratch, Sondors will utilize existing vehicle manufactures, affording less capital for production. Elio squandered funds building a new motor and building numerous prototypes. I am not saying the Sondors will be successful either, but it does seem to be more efficient.

The factory is mostly set up and mostly ready to go. The main point is that Elio has already handled procuring a place and won't have to pour a foundation to get started. Also, they won't have to pay homage to their Chinese overlords...

 

[Maurtis]

One consideration about the Sondors is that it has a single rear wheel that is driven by an electric motor. With this configuration I see traction issues on snow/ice. With such a short wheelbase it will tend to skid out of control easily. Even if they put some kind of anti-skid braking on the front wheels, that still doesn't prevent the rear trying to pass the front if a skid situation is happening. I would have liked to see front wheel drive on the Sondors instead. Yes, that would increase the cost, but the safety would also be better. If the "Autocar" legislation passes as currently written, the Sondors would be classified as a motorcycle due to the rear wheel drive. Unless different laws are passed, the Sondors would not be required to have air bags, seat belts, etc. While their prototype looks nice and the expected range is good, I don't see the government allowing it to be produced or imported under the current safety laws. Changes will have to be made probably by both Sondors and the law makers.

The Polaris Slingshot and Morgan 3 wheeler (ICE and EV) are available in the US and are rear wheel drive. Maybe they do not sell in enough volume to trigger updated safety laws?

 

[Elio Amazed]

While their prototype looks nice and the expected range is good, I don't see the government allowing it to be produced or imported under the current safety laws. Changes will have to be made probably by both Sondors and the law makers.

What laws are those exactly?
I've put a bit of study into this and to my knowledge, the Sondors meets the motorcycle (with the wide side-by-side seating configuration considerations) requirements.
Do you have any links to substantiate this?

Besides, Sondors has projected that their production vehicle will have airbags, seatbelts and ABS.

 

[Elio Amazed]

The factory is mostly set up and mostly ready to go. The main point is that Elio has already handled procuring a place and won't have to pour a foundation to get started. Also, they won't have to pay homage to their Chinese overlords...

Like Electra Meccanica, Sondors will not be having to "pour a foundation" for a large facility themselves.
Thus eliminating the lion's share of those costs. They built prototype #1 on chump change...
And they have projected that they can get to production by bid for another $20M.
(Which they're now well into the process of raising).

Compare that to the Elio expenditure to get to... well, where they're at now. Perpetually 'mostly ready'.
I'd hardy call being in need of $370M+ to begin production "Mostly set up and mostly ready to go."

The Chinese will be working for Sondors, not the other way around.