Eugene-based electric car manufacturer Arcimoto announced a new partnership with the international ride-sharing company Uber last week.
The aim of the summer partnership is to promote electric vehicles to riders and drivers. While Uber has been the subject of several controversies in recent months, Arcimoto founder and President Mark Frohnmayer is focused on the positives:
“I guess the way I really look at this opportunity is that when it comes to electric vehicles they’re taking a real leadership role and promoting more efficient transportation for their riders and their drivers. And I think that’s something we should really applaud,” says Frohnmayer.
Frohnmayer says Arcimoto’s purpose is to catalyze a shift to a sustainable transportation system. They hope to reach this goal by producing electric vehicles affordable to anyone. The base-model, which looks like a smart-car crossed with a three-wheel scooter, costs $11,900. That’s about a half to a third the cost of other affordable electric cars currently on the market. Arcimoto is now taking reservations for their first serious production run. The company hopes to produce up to 100 vehicles by the end of the year and looks to expand production in 2018.
