Elio Motors, the designer of an 84-mpg car, said that production of the $6,800 three-wheeler will be delayed after discovering that some of its funding will arrive late.
Elio Motors and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announced in early 2013 that the car company would take over a quarter of GM's factory in Shreveport, beginning production in March 2015. Production has now been pushed back to September 2015,
The Shreveport Times reported.
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The company has raised $55 million in private funding, and company founder Paul Elio said roughly $200 million will ultimately need to be raised, noting that, "Starting a new vehicle company is not cheap."
Stuart Lichter, an industrial developer, is giving $7.5 million to cover the leasing the plant. The Caddo Commission's Industrial Development Board (IDB) approved the purchase in August, but the funding didn't arrive until December.
"We’ll start having some sort of presence down there in the next couple months," Elio said, according to the Shreveport Times.
Currently, the company has been marketing a prototype on a nationwide tour with stops in 33 cities.
"We have a tremendous amount of momentum and it’s going very well for us," Elio added.
The Associated Press said one member of the Caddo Commission, Stephanie Lynch, is unsure production will start on time, if ever. She said the company was "severely under-capitalized." She cast the only vote from the commission not approving the purchase of the facilities.
Caddo Commissioner Ken Epperson disagrees with Elio's skeptics, and
told KTBS 3 Shreveport the delay didn't have anything to do with the startup motor company. He said another, unnamed manufacturer promising thousands of jobs became interested in the same facility, and the consideration of the manufacturer caused the delay.
"So, in the meantime, the alternative would have been for Elio to get the old AT&T building on Mansfield Road," but that scenario ultimately never came to pass.
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