Document text
Eugene-based Arcimoto gets stock jump-start This undated photo provided by Arcimoto shows an electric vehicle produced by the Oregon-based company. Arcimoto raised nearly $20 million in a recent initial public offering and its founder says the firm is on track to deliver its first vehicles to customers this year. Arcimoto shares will begin trading Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017 on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FUV, which stands for "fun utility vehicle." (Arcimoto via AP) Wednesday Sep 20, 2017 at 5:14 PM Sep 20, 2017 at 5:14 PM The Associated Press EUGENE — Arcimoto, an Oregon-based electric vehicle company, raised about $19.5 million in a recent initial public offering and its founder says the firm is on track to deliver its first vehicles to customers this year. “Raising nearly $20 million — almost double the original target — will let us move faster,” said Mark Frohnmayer, founder of the Eugene-based company and son of the late David Frohnmayer, the former state Attorney General and president of the University of Oregon who was raised in Medford.. He said he should know in the next month how long the money raised in the IPO will sustain the company’s growth and when Arcimoto will need to raise more money. Arcimoto went public with a Regulation A+ offering, a new kind of public offering that is open to the general public, not just wealthy accredited investors, and blends aspects of traditional IPOs with online crowdfunding. “It has exceeded my wildest expectations,” Frohnmayer said. Arcimoto shares will begin trading today on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FUV. That stands for "Fun Utility Vehicle," which is how the company describes its vehicles with seats for a driver and one passenger, three wheels and motorcycle handlebar-style steering. The price of the company's base model price is $11,900 — about a third of the price of a typical electric car, the company said. “People see the opportunity,” he said. “They endorsed it. They bought into it with their own coin. It has the potential to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. “To me, that says something about what we’re trying to do at the same time it gives us the fuel to go do it.” At 1,000 pounds, the vehicles are about one-fourth the weight of a standard car. They're also much smaller. Three fit into a typical parking space. The vehicles can travel 70 miles on a fully charged standard battery pack or 130 miles with an extended range battery. Arcimoto in the coming months plans to establish a larger production facility at an undisclosed location in Eugene. The company employs 23 people and will hire more people as production increases, Frohnmayer told The Register-Guard newspaper. The IPO money provided financing for the startup — a small player in an industry dominated by Tesla and major traditional auto makers. Arcimoto had 1,778 pre-order customers as of Tuesday. It hopes to deliver its first vehicles by the end of the year and the rest of the pre-ordered vehicles by the end of 2018. Frohnmayer said the company's goal is to dramatically increase production in 2019 and build at least 10,000 vehicles. In its month-long IPO that closed Friday, Arcimoto sold stock for $6.50 a share. In its initial June prospectus, Arcimoto said it hoped to raise $10 million through the stock sale, and planned to raise an additional $18 million within 15 months.