For entrepreneur Mark Frohnmayer, the moment of inspiration for his next big project came when he was watching a parade make its way down the main street in Eugene, Oregon. From his spot in the crowd, he spotted an inexpensive electric vehicle that had been constructed from a kit.
“As soon as I saw this thing, that was the light bulb moment,” says the member of Portland’s WeWork Custom House. “The light bulb illuminated a giant gap between the motorcycle and the car.”
Frohnmayer did some research into the market and realized that nobody else had found a way to produce smartly designed, reasonably priced electric vehicles. So he founded Arcimoto in 2007, spending more than eight years working on prototypes of his groundbreaking three-wheeled electric motorcycle.
“It’s the first of its kind in the world,” says Frohnmayer. “Right now on the market there isn’t another vehicle that both provides daily urban utility, is all electric, and is affordable. We expect competition to emerge, but right now it’s in a class of its own.”
Reviewers who took a test drive earlier this year gave it raves, calling it “the most fun thing,” adding that they were “amazed by its quickness.”
Frohnmayer’s team of 17 is made up of mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, industrial designers, and fabricators who are all working together to create one cohesive design. They’ve been designing and building out prototypes in the company’s studio space in Eugene.
The design is extremely simple, stripped down to the essentials. On the basic model, there aren’t even doors. Frohnmayer says his goal was to provide plenty of room for two passengers with the minimum number of bells and whistles.
“That’s really what the simplicity aspect of the design process is,” Frohnmayer says. “We’ve built this generation from the inside out, making sure a wide range of drivers are comfortable in the vehicles. Then you’re left with, ‘Now that all the foundational function is there, what’s the minimum structure and shaping we can use to enclose that?’”
The fifth generation of the vehicle, called the SRK, is even more technologically advanced. Frohnmayer says it combines an efficient electric vehicle platform with mobile app technology.
The target customers for the SRK are motorcycle buyers who want an affordable, smart, and efficient alternative to gas-powered cars. Arcimoto is accepting preorders for its first fleet of 50 vehicles, which is slated to come off the assembly line next year.
The price for the stripped down model is $11,900, while those equipped for all-weather driving or fashioned into delivery vehicles top out just over $20,000. In comparison, Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV has a base price of $22,995. Tesla’s cheapest battery-powered electric car, the Model 3, will set customers back about $35,000.
Anyone who wants to be among the first to test drive an SRK will soon get their chance. Frohnmayer says prototypes will be touring the West Coast in May and the East Coast in June.
Frohnmayer says his longtime connection with WeWork has provided vital support for Arcimoto. He remembers playing basketball with WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey when the two were in middle school.
The connection continued after that. Back in the late ’90s, McKelvey, Frohnmayer, and a group of daring young entrepreneurs founded Starve Ups, a nonprofit accelerator program based in Oregon. It’s now based in WeWork Custom House.
“Starve Ups has been an amazing resource at multiple key points in the company’s development,” Frohnmayer says. “When we’ve been on the ropes, I’ve had a group of peer CEOs always on hand for advice and assistance.”
He added that he was introduced to Arcimoto’s primary funder at a Starve Ups event.
Frohnmayer’s immediate goal is to get his product on the road on the West Coast, then partner with other companies to bring it to more markets.
And he’s dreaming even bigger. He sees Arcimoto’s vehicles as part of a “sustainable transportation system” across the country. In short, he wants to provide the “personal mass transit fleet of the future.”
Photos: Arcimoto