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

[Fat Charlie]

There's already a network of dealers, mechanics and customers out there.
How many motorcycle dealers wouldn't love to add an Elio franchise? They've already got a customer base and they can offer them a winter/bad weather option while bringing in curious non-bikers.

The market is out there, and it can be reached.

[jkv357]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

There's already a network of dealers, mechanics and customers out there.
How many motorcycle dealers wouldn't love to add an Elio franchise? They've already got a customer base and they can offer them a winter/bad weather option while bringing in curious non-bikers.

The market is out there, and it can be reached.

They have partnered with Pep Boys as their factory authorized service centers.

[botsapper]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

There's already a network of dealers, mechanics and customers out there.
How many motorcycle dealers wouldn't love to add an Elio franchise? They've already got a customer base and they can offer them a winter/bad weather option while bringing in curious non-bikers.

The market is out there, and it can be reached.

Speculating, Elio is looking like rule-breaking Elon Musk's Tesla business model. Elio could be another trike/automaker that sells directly to consumers - bypassing any dealer network. He already partnered with Pep Boys as Elio's nationwide service centers. Elio is already different in that he is using social media in direct marketing his trikes. Supporters/potential customers are his first direct customer sales. Without dealers, he (might be able) HAS to keep his promised $6,800 base price.

[k3ith]

Originally Posted by botsapper

Speculating, Elio is looking like rule-breaking Elon Musk's Tesla business model. Elio could be another trike/automaker that sells directly to consumers - bypassing any dealer network. He already partnered with Pep Boys as Elio's nationwide service centers. Elio is already different in that he is using social media in direct marketing his trikes. Supporters/potential customers are his first direct customer sales. Without dealers, he (might be able) HAS to keep his promised $6,800 base price.

The thing is Tesla is having trouble with that model in a few states and they aren't a massive seller. In order for Elio to make a profit at $6800 they'll have to sell massive numbers of vehicles which is going to require even more sales locations or dealerships than Tesla has. I imagine a few states that have influential dealership lobbies are going to manage to get that shut down.

[jkv357]

Has Elio said anything about how they plan to sell them?

[cbaber]

They plan to build Elio Retail centers in major markets, according to the home page Elio Motors: Ultra High Mileage Vehicle

You walk into the store and Elio specialists are there to help you build your Elio on a computer kiosk. From there they promise your Elio will be delivered within 24 hours of placing your order. It's the same type of system Tesla uses.

But again, it's going to be challenging to pay for all these retail outlets selling a car for $6800. Telsa is high-end and caters to the wealthy so they have no problem selling low volume and paying the bills. Elio is the opposite, extremely cheap and relying on high sales volumes.

[brucepick]

Elio now is at 16,000 paid reservations. At $6800 selling price, that's just under $109 million in sales. I'm sure most will be sold with the automatic transmission, which will add an unspecified amount, several hundred dollars.

I've made my reservation. Just so you know I'm a supporter. My reservation is $250, non refundable. Refundable is also available, and both types are in amounts from $100-1000

They will sell them at Elio-owned locations in the top 60 markets in the US. As noted earlier here, Elio has partnered with Pep Boys for service. They've also committed to providing a "service solution" for any owners who don't live within range of a Pep Boys. And of course, you can have any shop of your choice work on your Elio. Most components are "off the shelf" so you can get them from any usual parts supplier. That would be brakes, tuneup, steering and suspension, fuel system, all the usual stuff. The unique parts will be body and trim, engine internals, that sort of thing.

Oh, and they've said it will be OBDII. So I plan to plug in my ScanGauge.

[cbaber]

Originally Posted by brucepick

Elio now is at 16,000 paid reservations. At $6800 selling price, that's just under $109 million in sales. I'm sure most will be sold with the automatic transmission, which will add an unspecified amount, several hundred dollars.

Even if we assumed that 100% of the reservation holders followed through and purchased an Elio, 16,000 is well short of the # Elio released in the financial report it released last year. Elio has planned to sell nearly 70,000 units in the first year of production, with an estimate of 250,000 per year for the next 5 years of production.

That kind of volume is required for a car with a $1k profit margin. Frankly, it's impossible for this car to sell the type of volume Elio is predicting in it's report. Without the volume Elio cannot stay in business.

Do you want the perfect example of why Elio won't work? Honda Insight. The first gen was groundbreaking in every way. Relatively cheap, insane fuel economy, and a dedicated commuter car. Total global sales over it's entire lifespan = < 20,000. Honda decides to pull the plug and redesign the car for what people want. The 2nd Gen Insight is born. It sold more in its first year of production in US market alone than the first gen insight did globally over it's entire production.

And this is coming from someone who would buy an Elio tomorrow if I had the chance. I'm not trying to bash on Elio, but I would like the company to provide some a realistic business model that will allow this car to be a success, rather than continuing to make empty promises in hopes of getting more up-front funding in the form of reservations.

Elio is in a good position to get a car production ready, but it won't be priced at $6800. Even if you reserved an Elio, it doesn't guarantee pricing. There is just no way this car will sell as well as a Civic, and without the sales there is no way they can sell it for $6800.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

There's already a network of dealers, mechanics and customers out there.
How many motorcycle dealers wouldn't love to add an Elio franchise? They've already got a customer base and they can offer them a winter/bad weather option while bringing in curious non-bikers.

The market is out there, and it can be reached.

Good point. I really think that their best bet is to authorize Pep Boys to sell their trikes and then you take them back to the "dealer" for service.

I cannot imagine them them having the power to revolutionize things like Tesla can, but if they can bypass dealerships, we might have a modern sales model, like Netflix and New Egg replaced Blockbuster and Circuit City.

[cowmeat]

It's a long shot, but I'm rooting for them! I've been on the fence about putting down a deposit for a while, waiting to see what comes next. Not sure 16,000, or even double that, reservations will be enough to push them into production at that price.
They're going to be a tough sell to the masses, unless they figure a kick-ass ad campaign pretty damned quick ***insert smoking hot spokesmodel/adorable talking animal/sports figure here***
I'd pay cash for it now to hold the price if Elio could guarantee delivery in 2015!