It’s been a long road from the drawing board, but Eugene’s homemade electric vehicles are now turning heads on city streets as locals start bringing them home.
Arcimoto is producing three of its signature three-wheeled “fun utility vehicles” a day at its Eugene manufacturing plant and about 30 local customers now have them in their driveways. Another 10 of the company’s FUVs zipping around town are rentals.
The FUV — a three-wheel, all-electric vehicle designed to replace cars for short trips — went into commercial production in Eugene in September 2019 after about a dozen years of development. Arcimoto currently employs about 200 people in Eugene and had delivered about 200 FUVs to customers by the end of March.
There are only four states where customers currently can buy them, but those who do can see them delivered in about three months. They’re available in Oregon, Washington, California and Florida.
“It’s been super fun,” said Dr. Susie Watkins, a Eugene dentist who’s had her FUV for about three weeks. “If you’ve driven a car or a bike, you’d probably feel comfortable.”
Watkins, a mother of two, said she first heard of Arcimoto several years ago but didn’t consider getting one until earlier this year after seeing people driving them around town.
She’d wanted a motorcycle for years, but didn’t feel safe putting her kids on one. She wanted to buy American. She wanted an electric vehicle. The FUV seemed a good fit.
“It kind of checked off all my boxes,” Watkins said.
Mark Frohnmayer, Arcimoto’s founder and president, believes visibility and partnerships are what will make the business model work in coming years.
Frohnmayer expects a three-per-day production rate until their new manufacturing plant on Chambers Street comes online at the end of next year. Eventually, Frohnmayer expects to be able to make 50,000 vehicles a year at that facility.
“We’re still in very low volume production,” Frohnmayer said. “Demonstrating that market potential is really important, and that’s really all about getting butts in seats.”
An FUV currently costs about $17,900, but Frohnmayer said he wants the cost to shrink to $11,900 by 2024.
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Part of the marketing strategy has been to open rental locations in Key West, Florida, San Diego and Eugene. Those locations host between 10-13 FUVs, Frohnmayer said.
“You can take a 15-minute test drive of a vehicle, but if you actually take it out and have a day with it to really get a feel for it and get the joy out of it, I think it’s a much better read of what the FUV life is all about,” Frohnmayer said.
Dr. Cindi Palman, a Eugene resident, has known about Arcimoto for years. But she only learned about the rental option recently, and with her granddaughter in town for a visit decided to try one out Thursday. They drove to King Estate Winery and visited friends.
“For driving around the city, it was great. It was way better than I expected,” she said.
Palman drives a Tesla and isn’t especially in need of a new vehicle, but she said her experience with the FUV convinced her it could easily find a home in American cities.
“I wouldn’t have tested it if it wasn’t electric. I don’t need another noisy toy,” she said. “I hadn’t considered getting one for myself because I have my Tesla, but after driving it, depending where I lived, I totally would. It just fills a niche between e-bikes and cars.”
Watkins said she’s been using her FUV for her five-mile commute to work, as well as for errands around town. Though she still needs her SUV, the FUV fills in some gaps.
“Anything local, we’ll take it out if we can because it’s way more fun,” Watkins said.
Contact reporter Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@registerguard.com. Follow on Twitter @DuvernayOR.
