Continuing its evolution from startup company to electric vehicle manufacturer, Arcimoto Inc. [ FUV: NASDAQ] announced the development of the Deliverator, a last-mile delivery vehicle that will be assembled at the company’s manufacturing facility in Eugene, Oregon. The three-wheel mobility offering targets 100 city miles of range, 75-miles per hour, a 350-pound carrying capacity and 20 plus cubic feet of cargo space.
“With the Deliverator, we set out to create a vehicle that would solve the problem of local and last-mile delivery, which has traditionally been dominated by big, expensive, polluting delivery trucks and vans that often block traffic and increase congestion in urban environments,” said Mark Frohnmayer, President and Founder of Arcimoto, in a statement.
The new vehicle adds to the increasingly crowded last-mile delivery vehicle space, now featuring robotic, bicycle and scooter entrants.
Frohnmayer said the Deliverator’s nimble, small footprint can improve fulfillment and delivery times by allowing the operator to more easily move through traffic and find parking. The cargo cube can be customized to carry a wide array of products including parcels, pizza, perishable groceries, pharmaceuticals and drycleaning.
“With reduced fuel and maintenance costs, we believe the Deliverator will offer significant per-mile savings,” Frohnmayer said. “For small business owners and corporate fleets alike, the Deliverator delivers.”
Arcimoto is no newbie. Frohnmayer founded the company in 2007 aiming to build an electric cruiser for daily commuters and as a recreational vehicle for resort and retirement communities. But the company was ahead of the market, and for several years Arcimoto struggled to gain traction apart from geeky interest in its product offerings.
The company’s fortunes improved dramatically in 2017, when in a surprisingly successful initial public offering Arcimoto raised nearly $20 million, about double what it had initially sought. The company was the second pure electric automaker to list on the NASDAQ – after Tesla. Its Eugene factory space went online in the fall, giving Arcimoto the capacity to manufacture entire vehicles in-house.
The Deliverator is the third vehicle built on the Arcimoto platform, following the Fun Utility Vehicle, designed for everyday drivers, and the Rapid Responder, developed to serve emergency, security and law enforcement needs.
Deliverator production is expected to begin in 2020, and costs start at $19,990. Full pricing, options and specifications will be announced in the coming months.
