Arcimoto Moves Manufacturing to New Facility

Arcimoto is moving on up. 

The Eugene electric three-wheel vehicle manufacturer is moving its manufacturing operations to a 185,000 square foot facility located at 311 Chambers Street. The move falls in line with the company’s 2020 plans to increase production. 

According to a spokesperson for Arcimoto, the company’s expanded facility is a step toward plans for mass production at a rate of 50,000 vehicles per year. The facility is five times as large as its facility at 2034 W. 2nd Avenue, which will close when the company moves. 

“In 2020 we articulated an aggressive goal to achieve mass production within two years,” said Arcimoto Founder and CEO Mark Frohnmayer in a statement. “We believe the acquisition of this existing manufacturing facility is a critical leap toward our goal.”

Chief Strategy Officer Jesse Fittipaldi said in a press release that the location has an existing facility, so the company won’t have to invest time and money in construction. Arcimoto can instead go ahead with facility retrofits and production line layout. The company closes on the property March 31. 

During Arcimoto’s second-quarter 2020 investor webcast on Aug. 20, the company reported that it had been working with Munro and Associates based in Michigan to find ways to increase Arcimoto’s production capabilities to 50,000 units a year by 2022. 

Although Arcimoto is finding success with partnerships with last-mile delivery like restaurant-to-consumer, the electric vehicle industry saw its sales decrease in 2019 compared to 2018. Part of this is because of dwindling federal subsidies for consumers and the Trump administration’s orders to loosen vehicle pollution regulations, according to a report by McKinsey and Company.