Back in the summer of 2008 with gas prices over $4 a gallon I decided to "get serious" about selling electric motorscooters. I was fortunate enough to hook up with two other local businessmen Coley and Erik. We spent the next few months exploring our options. At the time we were focused on opening a dealer and beginning our own brand. This would be the first step and then we'd move in to other EV ventures. The idea was to import a pre-existing Chinese electric motor scooter and make various upgrades and fix certain quality control concerns.
But if we did this we were going to do it properly. So we engaged an automotive consulting firm to help us answer the questions and discover the issues. However, it didn't work out. The closer we looked at the chosen bike and the chosen manufacturer the less attractive the plan appeared. One day in September we pulled the plug - it just wasn't feasible.
However, on that day Electric Vehicle Manufacturing (EVMFG) was born. Coley stepped back at that point (his skills are in retail and general business management) - but Erik (owner of an electronics manufacturing business) and me (John - owner of rEVolution Electric Vehicles, LLC) were still committed to bringing an EV to market. So, we switched our attention to how to build our own bike.
Right from the beginning we had decided we didn't want to "do a Vectrix" - i.e. we didn't think it was feasible or even preferable to design a new bike from the ground up. Many a wannabe EV manufacturer has managed to raise a few million dollars of other people's money (OPM) with the promise of the "perfect solution". They disappear into the design studio and appear a couple of years later (or almost a decade in the case of the Vectrix). At that point they sure do have a great looking vehicle - on paper. They've also spent the OPM and, because this is a fast moving environment, they may find themselves already behind the technology curve (can you say Nickle Metal Hydride batteries?). A lot of folks apparently give up at this point. Others, like Vectrix keep on trucking. However, by this time they've saddled themselves with a "big business" cost base - as such, when the bike finally makes it to the showroom floor it costs $12,995 and risks being classified as an expensive toy.
Why re-invent the wheel? There are hundreds if not thousands of bikes out there. Are any of them the "perfect" bike to use as a starting point? That depends on how you define perfect, it also depends on whether you're even looking for perfect. Engineering is the art of compromise - that's not a bad thing. It's a realistic thing.
So, EVMFG's goal was set - build a world class EV bike using the best technology that exists today and bring it to market quickly. At EVMFG we know the best place to learn is in the field not in the lab.
