Local electric vehicle maker Aptera is again in the real estate market, shopping for larger digs while it awaits another dose of funding from private lenders and the government.
Laura Marion, chief financial officer for the Vista-based company, said this week that Aptera has looked at a large building in Oceanside’s Ocean Ranch Business park that was formerly owned by Ashworth, a golf apparel company.
She said the company is also looking at other facilities in North County that could serve both as a company headquarters and manufacturing facility where Aptera would assemble the e2, a three-wheeled hybrid electric car that is so aerodynamic it looks like an airplane without wings.
Marion said Aptera is committed to staying in the region, even though doing business in California can be much more expensive than moving to states with more business-friendly laws.
“Having started here, our engineering talent base is here,” Marion said. “We’re confident that there is a local work force base here that will support us as we transition from development to production.”
Aptera is at a crossroads. In late 2009, both of its founders took a hiatus from the company which is several yeas late in producing its futuristic-looking cars for initial 4,000 buyers who each plunked down a $500 refundable deposit for the privilege. Rather than launching into immediate production, Aptera decide to tweak its Spartan initial design, adding features such as roll-down windows and other conveniences demanded by initial investors.
Marques McCammon, Aptera’s chief marketing officer, said that the company now has a final design ready for production, but said the company is still working on locking up private financing and is waiting to hear on a federal loan for high-mileage cars.
Marion said the company is looking for a new production facility with between 125,000 and 200,000 square feet.
“This would serve as headquarters for our administrative staff as well as for initial assembly,” she said.
Marion said that it makes sense to start manufacturing in Southern California, because the region is the largest target market for electric and hybrid vehicles. She said having engineers and designers based locally will allow the company to provide a level of support for the vehicles that might not be possible if Aptera moved to a different state. Also, the local climate allows for year-round testing of new products, something not possible in areas where snowstorms can make roads impassable for three or four months out of every year.
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Source: nctimes.com
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