ECM3 Prototype
ECO Motor Car Company, a Seattle startup, is introducing their ECM3, a three-wheeled vehicle that is classified as a motorcycle. The gas powered vehicle with two wheels in front and one in the back has a 1.0 liter, 52 hp engine and gets a reported 60 mpg. The vehicle is built in China by Geely and weighs about 1,400 lbs. The ECM3 is expected to be available in May of 2009 for $13,995 to $14,995 depending on options. Learn more: Autopia
ECM3 Prototype Interior
Evergreen Electromotive based in Bainbridge Island is raising funds to finish additional prototypes and establish production facilities for three-wheeled utility vehicles. Led by Bob Fraik, a former software engineer from Sun Microsystems and NeXT, the company has already produced the ECH, a four wheeled MSV prototype with a carbon composite body and lithium iron phosphate battery pack giving it a range of 80 miles.
Evergreen Electromotive's Prototype ECH - Four-Wheel MSV
The company is finishing work on two prototype three-wheel vehicles and is looking to establish production facilities in the Port of Bremerton, WA industrial center. The production vehicles are expected to have a top speed of over 50 mph but can be calibrated for lower speeds, and will be targeted for government and corporate fleets. Learn more: Kitsapsun.com
Greenwit Technologies reports increasing sales of their Motorino electric scooter. While not the usual type of vehicles covered in this blog, scooters do rub up against some of the vehicles we cover in the urban use segment and I think it is important to track this tangential market.
Steve Miloshev, company president, estimates that a 1,000 units were sold in 2008. He recently made his first shipment to the US for East coast distribution and plans further expansion into Florida and California. He attributes fuel prices, environmental concerns and the practicality of the vehicles. In the article he remarks that some buyers are replacing second vehicles with the scooters and about 15% use it as their main means of transportation. The scooters, which reach speeds of 60km/h and can travel up to 60 kilometres on a single charge, retail between $3,700 and $5,000. Learn more