In a press release today, ElectraMeccanica ($ SOLO) announced the site for its US-based assembly facility. The facility and a technical engineering center will be located in Mesa, Arizona. The confirmation puts an end to a year-long survey that began in February 2020. With this news, Arizona is quickly becoming a new center for manufacturing electric vehicles.
Before choosing the Phoenix suburb as its new production center, the Canadian company conducted a lengthy survey across the country. This led to seven tenders by local authorities in potential states. Previously, we informed that the startup EV reduced its list to two finalists, Arizona and Tennessee.
Although Arizona made more sense, given the circumstances and movements around ElectraMeccanica, it had not confirmed our suspicions. At least so far The proposed installation in the USA is the most suitable for ElectraMeccanica’s plan to increase production of its flagship SOLO EV. The company’s press release states that the new facility will create up to 500 new jobs when it is fully operational. In addition, the Mesa plant will be able to produce up to 20,000 SOLOs per year. Arizona officials also seem quite happy with the decision. According to the governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey:
Arizona is thrilled to be chosen to host ElectraMeccanica’s first assembly facility and technical engineering center in the United States. Arizona quickly became the center of electric vehicles in America, thanks to our robust and growing workforce, vibrant innovation ecosystem and ideal business environment. My thanks to ElectraMeccanica, the Arizona Trade Authority, the city of Mesa and everyone involved in bringing this exciting project to Arizona.
New ElectraMeccanica facilities in the USA
The Mesa facility will feature a light vehicle assembly plant and a state-of-the-art engineering technical center. This center will be built with several laboratories for comprehensive research. In addition, it will include test workshops for vehicle chassis, batteries and power electronics.
ElectraMeccanica also hopes that its new home will generate second-order effects that positively impact local and state economies in Arizona. Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority said the following:
We couldn’t be more excited to welcome ElectraMeccanica to Arizona as the latest electric vehicle innovator to choose our state. No other state in the country offers a better environment for ElectraMeccanica to scale its cutting-edge technology and we look forward to continuing to be a partner in the company’s long-term success.
ElectraMeccanica is also not alone in its migration to the state of the Grand Canyon. Lucid Motors is in full production at its AMP-1 facility in Casa Grande. This is less than an hour south of Mesa. The luxury carmaker is already looking to expand its presence to phase two as well. Clearly, Lucid has planted roots in Arizona’s red clay and plans to remain there in the near future.
What the change means for ElectraMeccanica
This announcement comes just a few months after a rapid expansion of retail in the United States. This includes eight current locations that are open in the western United States. ElectraMeccanica now plans to operate 20 direct consumer locations in 16 North American cities by the end of the second quarter of 2021. As for SOLO, the automaker is set to launch a single-occupancy three-wheeled EV in North America this summer. year.
According to its press release, ElectraMeccanica is already exploring additional developments around its US facility:
In addition to the strong consumer interest in SOLO EV, the company has seen a growing interest in commercial fleets and utility applications. In addition to working to address the challenges of displacement and traffic congestion in the region, the company plans to work with local municipalities to initiate a future pilot SOLO sharing ecosystem in Mesa and the metropolitan Phoenix region. Plans for this program will be available.
Electrek‘stake
Called! As we mentioned earlier last month, Arizona makes a lot of sense for ElectraMeccanica and its first installation in the United States. First of all, your HQ in Vancouver is much closer to Arizona than Tennessee. Second, the company’s current retail locations are in Oregon, California and … Arizona. Last but not least, previous interviews revealed that ElectraMeccanica CEO Paul Rivera lives in Arizona.
Okay, enough rejoicing. This is an exciting move for a company that is bringing its flagship EV to market this year. ElectraMeccanica is the only one launching a three-wheeled EV that can reach 80 mph with 100 miles of range. In addition, at a price of $ 18,500, it can serve as a popular multifunctional vessel around Phoenix. This can mean daily trips, food deliveries or hitchhiking. Hopefully, SOLOs come with premium A / C as well.
With ElectraMeccanica becoming a neighbor to Lucid Motors, Arizona is fast becoming a modern showroom for innovative EVs. In addition, the Global EV Chargepoint network has two offices in Scottsdale. Finally, Nikola is headquartered in Phoenix … if you still consider them an EV maker.
The eyes will be on ElectraMeccanica as it implements its new facilities in the USA and launches SOLO EV. In addition, the EV world may increasingly be looking to Arizona as a prime state for manufacturing.
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