Mar 24, 2009

Three-wheelers Want Subsidies, Too

It seems that billions of dollars are flying out of Washington, D.C., at a record rate (which some would call alarming), but a budding California-based electric vehicle manufacturer is finding it impossible to get a federal loan. While the Obama administration has established a goal for the U.S. transportation industry of putting one million plug-in hybrid and electric cars on the road by 2015, Aptera Motors has been denied a loan by the Department of Energy. The reason? Aptera’s 2e plug-in, all-electric two-seater has only three wheels.

The company says that the three-wheeled architecture improves highway efficiency by more than 25 percent due to decreased weight as well as lower rolling and air resistance. It claims that the 2e will get the equivalent of over 200 mpg, go 100 miles on a single charge and offer a top speed of 90 mph. So far this isn’t persuasive to the Department of Energy, which says, as a matter of law, it is adhering to the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program. (The program makes funds available to support the development of fuel-efficient four-wheeled vehicles.)

“We’ve received financial backing from funders like Google and IdeaLab, and now we’d like to tell our story of breakthrough aerodynamic design and efficiency on Capitol Hill,” said Aptera President and CEO Paul Wilbur, a former top executive at Chrysler for 25 years. “Aptera can change everyday commuter driving forever, and even though we’re a relative newcomer, we’re confident our vision, purpose and results will compel federal lawmakers to rally around our cause and embrace efficiency in federal policy.”