Elio Motors, The Next Big Thing?!!...

[NeilBlanchard]

I hope they pay more than $2K / month to their workers. $3-4K/month is probably more like it.

The prototypes look relatively easy to produce, and with volume, they can keep the price low.





Here's an ironic comparison: Tesla has taken a lot of heat for building an expensive model first, and Elio is being doubted for building an inexpensive model first. I think the Elio will still sell well, even if they have to price it at $8-9K. The ~$6K may be a loss leader - get them out on the road, and price the best options up high enough to make a profit on most sales.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

I hope they pay more than $2K / month to their workers. $3-4K/month is probably more like it.

Lets assume $3k and lets assume 50% of the claimed workforce - 750. Thats $2.25m per month in salaries alone. Assuming a sales cost of $9K ($6k is kit only or for the faries) then you would have to sell 250 a month just to cover salaries only - nothing for buildings, power, materials, legals, designers, paint, welding, quality, finishing, electronics, advertising, shipping etc etc. And certainly no profit/return for shareholders.

And as Frank said they should be productionising this stuff like the chassis and the framework at this stage and not faffing about with the basics of the design especially as they expect them to be on the road by the end of 2014.

Those photos still look more like a welding project, and if scaled up look more like the Morgan factory :



and Morgan don't sell anything for $6K.

I wonder how the deposits are protected too - what if they fail to deliver or fold before then, would a depositor just be at the back of the queue of creditors ?

[doclees]

No comparison Morgan to Elio. Morgan - hand built buy British craftsmen making about 1000 or less a year. Elio has a production goal of 250k the first year. Realistic, not realistic I don't know. Assembly line with as many "off the shelf" parts as possible. Just no comparison to a Morgan.

I don't know finances. My accounting consists of "what's in my pocket today". I can't second guess the guys with the MBA's and suits. What I do know is that if they can run these off the assembly line for $6800, finished or a kit, I'm buying one. If they build it as advertised with non proprietary parts then you can fix it and run it forever even if they go belly up. 50 - 60 - 70-80 or 100mpgs wouldn't matter to me.

[Frank Lee]

250,000?!? In one year? The first year? That is half the numbers of the F150, pretty much the U.S. sales king. Color me skeptical... again.

[niky]

250k a year, especially if you're assembling frames from bent tubes instead of stamping them out of machines, will require more than a single factory.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

The Elio wouldn't be profitable for less than 10 grand, and still hard to sell more than 1000 per month considering the limited interest for them in the American market.

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Has any company doing the "economy car" thing succeeded yet ?

When Gurgel was leaving the SUV market to concentrate on superminis with its own flat-twin 800cc engine, Brazilian government killed it

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by niky

250k a year, especially if you're assembling frames from bent tubes instead of stamping them out of machines, will require more than a single factory.

Yep.

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

When Gurgel was leaving the SUV market to concentrate on superminis with its own flat-twin 800cc engine, Brazilian government killed it

Actually the only eco car company I can think of working is Axiam but they have keyed into a market in the EU - people under 18 area allowed to drive them.

This company used to be quite large, but failed in the 1970s.

[Superfuelgero]

Originally Posted by doclees

I don't know finances. My accounting consists of "what's in my pocket today". I can't second guess the guys with the MBA's and suits.

I have both, and they can't. I listed some case studies to support the failure, and a couple to support ways to succeed in my earlier post. I hope I'm wrong.

[sheepdog 44]

[Arragonis]

Are the doors from the Ford Fester ?