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-   -   Elio Motors - Intends to follow Tesla with a "No Dealers" philosophy (http://www.dealershipforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3790)

steve_biegler 05-07-2014 01:54 PM

There is another company, www.eliomotors.com, that is going to try the same thing. I sent them an e-mail that I would be interested in being a dealer and they sent me to the website that states they will have their own stores. I told them about the Tesla problems and never got a response.
Actually it is a very cool concept and looks like it may just become a reality. Looks as if they will use part of the old Hummer plant.

XDCX 05-08-2014 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve_biegler (Post 34295)
There is another company, www.eliomotors.com, that is going to try the same thing. I sent them an e-mail that I would be interested in being a dealer and they sent me to the website that states they will have their own stores. I told them about the Tesla problems and never got a response.
Actually it is a very cool concept and looks like it may just become a reality. Looks as if they will use part of the old Hummer plant.

I've been meaning to create a thread about Elio Motors but I've never gotten around to it.

Elio Motors was on display at Barrett-Jackson - Scottsdale and I had a chance to look at the vehicle that was on display and talk to one of their representatives. He was telling me that they planned to follow Tesla's lead and go with company owned stores - a big mistake, in my opinion, for a small company with limited capital and limited resources.

When I get caught up I'll create a new thread about Elio Motors. It's been awhile since I've done the research, but I'm pretty sure that one of Chrysler's former executives, James Holden, is part of the company.

steve_biegler 05-09-2014 05:18 AM

This is taken from the Elio web site.

Mr. Holden retired in 2000 after completing 27 distinguished years in the auto industry, including 19 years with DaimlerChrysler and its predecessor Chrysler Corp. (“Chrysler”). Highlights of his career include being named President of DaimlerChrysler in 1999 and Chief Executive Officer in June 2000. Mr. Holden served in various positions during his career at Chrysler, including Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing responsible for directing all of the automaker’s sales, fleet and marketing organizations in the United States, Mexico and Canada, including Mopar parts operations. In addition, he serves as a director of Sirius XM Radio, Inc., Snap-on, Inc. and Speedway Motorsports. Mr. Holden was a director of Motors Liquidation Company until its dissolution in December 2011. Formerly, Mr. Holden served as a director for Meridian Automotive Systems, Inc. Mr. Holden earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Western Michigan University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Michigan State University
Troy, MI April 18, 2014

Elio Motors, Inc., today named nationally renowned business leaders to its Board of Directors, providing expertise in automotive design, manufacturing, marketing and finance that will help the company launch its enclosed, three-wheeled vehicle in 2015.

The board members include James Holden, former DaimlerChrysler CEO; Ken Way, former Lear Corporation CEO; Hari Iyer, CEO of Pamban Energy Systems; and, Stuart Lichter, founder and Chairman of the Board of IRG, LLC.

Elio Motors' vehicle is anticipated to achieve a 5-Star Crash Test Safety Rating, get 84 miles per gallon and sell for $6,800.00. The vehicle is already creating a groundswell of customer enthusiasm, as 13,000 people have paid for a vehicle reservation, the company has 100,000 Facebook fans and averages 250,000 monthly unique visitors to its web site. Currently, the vehicle prototype is on a 33-city nationwide tour, introducing the vehicle to potential customers.

Elio Motors will create more than 1,500 jobs at its manufacturing facility in Shreveport, LA., help reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil and provide a more environmentally friendly transportation solution for American drivers.

"It is energizing to me and to our team to have so many industry icons as Directors who understand our vision, recognize the importance of transforming the American transportation industry and passionately support our development and success," said Paul Elio, CEOof Elio Motors. "We look forward to the strategic input of all our board members as we fulfill our mission of low-cost, high-mileage vehicles for American drivers."

James Holden
Mr. Holden is the former Chief Executive Officer of DaimlerChrysler, where he worked in various leadership positions for 19 years. His roles included Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing responsible for directing all of the automaker's sales, fleet and marketing organizations in the United States, Mexico and Canada, including Mopar parts operations. In addition, he serves as a director of Sirius XM Radio, Inc., Snap-on, Inc. and Speedway Motorsports. Mr. Holden was a director of Motors Liquidation Company until its dissolution in December 2011. Formerly, Mr. Holden served as a director for Meridian Automotive Systems, Inc. Mr. Holden earned a B.S. in political science from Western Michigan University and a M.B.A. from Michigan State University.

Ken Way
Mr. Way served as the Chief Executive Officer of Lear Corporation from 1988 to September 2000 and Chairman of the Board from 1988 to December 2002. Mr. Way served with Lear Corporation and its predecessor companies for 37 years in various engineering, manufacturing and general management capacities. During his career he has served as a Director for several organizations, including Wesco International Inc., Wesco Distribution, Inc., CMS Energy Corporation, Consumers Energy Company of Consumers Gas Group, North American Rubber Inc., Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (formerly, Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc.), Cooper-Standard Automotive NC L.L.C. and Cooper-Standard Automotive FHS Inc., United Way Cancer Institute, Business Leaders for Michigan, RP Scherer Corporation, Lear Corp., Comerica Inc. (Holding Company of Comerica Bank), Catalent Pharma Solutions Inc., and Detroit Renaissance, He is a Trustee of Kettering University and Henry Ford Health Systems.

Stuart Lichter
Mr. Lichter is founder, President and Chairman of the Board for IRG, LLC. He oversees all critical aspects of the business, including acquisitions, leasing, and property management at IRG. Mr. Lichter has held positions with General Services Administration of the United States Government, Mortgage Loan Department of New York Life Insurance Company, Marine Midland and started Quadrelle Realty Services, Inc. In recent years, he has acquired, in various forms and partnerships, over 100 industrial and commercial properties with a total size in excess of 100,000,000 square feet-making the portfolio the largest private holding of industrial and commercial real estate in the nation. Mr. Lichter is a national leader in transforming former military bases and industrial sites into thriving retail, residential and business.

Hari Iyer
Mr. Iyer is Chairman & CEO of Pamban Energy Systems, a company specializing in enhanced oil recovery using advanced simulation tools. He has nearly 25 years of business strategy, product development and operations experience in the automotive industry.

Before Pamban Energy, Mr. Iyer was Executive Vice President at Envia Systems. At Envia, he led all customer-facing commercialization and scale-up efforts. Prior to Envia, Mr. Iyer was Vice President, Engineering at Next Autoworks Company, a Kleiner Perkins funded automotive startup. At Next Autoworks, he led the creation of a North American auto industry first vehicle development process, which involved true supplier collaboration of more than 65 major Tier-1 and Tier-2 suppliers. Before that, Mr. Iyer was co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Elio Engineering, a product development firm specializing in automotive and clean tech applications. Prior to Elio, Mr. Iyer was an engineering analyst at Johnson Controls, working with the various automotive component groups and their OEM customers. He received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State and his M.B.A. from Stanford.

About Elio Motors: Founded by car enthusiast Paul Elio in 2008, Elio Motors Inc. represents a revolutionary approach to manufacturing an ultra-high-mileage vehicle. The 3-wheeled Elio will attain a highway mileage rating of more than 80 mpg while providing the comfort of amenities such as power windows, power door lock and air conditioning, accompanied by the safety of multiple air bags and an aerodynamic, enclosed vehicle body. Elio's first manufacturing site will be in Shreveport, LA., with plans for the first production vehicle to roll off the assembly line in 2015 and significant production, sales and distribution during the next two years. For more information, visit http://www.eliomotors.com or http://www.facebook.com/ElioMotors.

mryan55 05-09-2014 07:18 AM

This will be second attempt to revive the Hummer plant... the last one didn't work out so well. Vehicle Production Group LLC made mobility vans at the plant in 2011 and 2012. Nice looking product, but limited market... and they were sold through a traditional dealer network.

mryan55 05-09-2014 07:19 AM

And I just noticed that this is H3 plant making these... not the H2 plant in Mishawaka.

XDCX 01-15-2015 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XDCX (Post 35184)
I've been meaning to create a thread about Elio Motors but I've never gotten around to it.

Elio Motors was on display at Barrett-Jackson - Scottsdale and I had a chance to look at the vehicle that was on display and talk to one of their representatives. He was telling me that they planned to follow Tesla's lead and go with company owned stores - a big mistake, in my opinion, for a small company with limited capital and limited resources.

When I get caught up I'll create a new thread about Elio Motors. It's been awhile since I've done the research, but I'm pretty sure that one of Chrysler's former executives, James Holden, is part of the company.

I thought of this thread yesterday when I was at Barrett-Jackson and thought I'd finally create a new thread to discuss Elio Motors and their plans to follow the Tesla "No Dealers" business model.

XDCX 01-15-2015 01:48 PM

Here's a picture from the Elio display at the 2015 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction - it looks exactly like the 2014 display and the Elio is still just as far away from reaching the market....



Here's their sales pitch:


XDCX 01-15-2015 01:56 PM

Interesting article from a Elio skeptic
 
Here's an interesting article from an Elio skeptic that was published on the Jalopnik website - click here

Given Elio's apparent lack of capital it seems doubtful they'd be able to launch a vehicle without a dealer network. While Pep Boys may provide Elio with a warranty/service solution, who is going to sell their cars? Can a company that's still trying to raise money for manufacturing also afford to create their own distribution network?

XDCX 01-11-2017 10:09 AM

Is Elio Motors down to $100,000 in cash?
 
I thought of this thread the other day when I saw a news headline indicating that Elio Motors is down to $100,000 in cash but has over $33 Million in debt.

Here's a link to a news report - click here

I'm planning to go to Barrett-Jackson next week - it will be interesting to see if Elio Motors has another display this year.

tbk125 01-11-2017 03:04 PM

Personally, I think Elio motors will never happen. If they still haven't been able to launch after this long I doubt they ever will. But there are similar startups in the same space that may actually get off the ground.

http://litmotors.com/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/.../#56a4b60c2de3

XDCX 01-12-2017 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbk125 (Post 38395)
Personally, I think Elio motors will never happen. If they still haven't been able to launch after this long I doubt they ever will. But there are similar startups in the same space that may actually get off the ground.

http://litmotors.com/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/.../#56a4b60c2de3

I agree that the odds Elio will ever make it to market look really poor.

With fuel prices being low I'm sure the market for vehicles like the Elio is pretty weak and with the advancements that are being made with electric vehicles it's unlikely people will look to a vehicle like the Elio if fuel prices start to climb in the future.

That said I do think there's a market for really small vehicles that are cheap and easy to park. My Dad lives in a retirement community and it always amazes me to see how many people use their golf cart as their primary mode of transportation and it's not uncommon to hear that someone paid $8,000+ for a new golf cart.

mryan55 01-22-2017 06:42 AM

I am seriously doubting the Elio coming to market as well. They once again had a display at the North American Auto Show in Detroit. I didn't take any pictures of it, but it looked like the display way about the same as in years past. Here's their own press release on the event:

https://www.eliomotors.com/elio-moto...ow-in-detroit/


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