ElectraMeccanica relocates headquarters from Canada to Mesa
ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp. sees bigger plans for its Mesa plant.
It was once planned to be just the future manufacturer of its single-seat, three-wheel Solo model, but ElectraMeccanica (Nasdaq: SOLO) announced it would make the new 235,000-square-foot Mesa assembly and technical facility its new corporate headquarters.
ElectraMeccanica Chief Revenue Officer Kim Brink said the decision to relocate the company’s headquarters from British Columbia, Canada to Mesa was made earlier this month. She said the decision was one of the first Susan Docherty made as CEO. ElectraMeccanica announced Docherty as CEO on Dec. 5.
“I think this was a very natural place for us to come. This is the center of gravity of the electric vehicle market,” Brink said.
ElectraMeccanica announced the new headquarters as it held a commissioning of its plant on Monday. The commissioning allows for the plant to ramp up to full production, which will allow all of the manufacturing to take place in Mesa. Currently, ElectraMeccanica imports the electric Solo models from China and the team at the Mesa plant fixes any issues with the vehicles and prepares them for sale to customers in California and Arizona. ElectraMeccanica expects the full manufacturing of the Solo models to get going in Mesa by the end of 2023.
The company sells the three-wheel Solo and Solo Cargo for $18,500 and $24,500, respectively. Both have a range of 100 miles at full charge.
ElectraMeccanica currently has just over 70 employees but expects to bring on up to 500 employees. The facility will have the capacity to manufacture 20,000 vehicles per year and could serve as a contract manufacturer for other electric vehicle makers.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Mesa Mayor John Giles and Docherty each spoke Monday at ElectraMeccanica’s plant commissioning.
“Arizona is a driving force of innovation, and today’s ribbon cutting for ElectraMeccanica is further proof of that,” Ducey said in a statement. “We are proud of these one-of-a-kind vehicles that will be made in Mesa, bolstering Arizona’s robust manufacturing industry.
View the accompanying slideshow for a peek into ElectraMeccanica’s new headquarters.
Phoenix-based Willmeng Construction Inc. was the general contractor of the building at 8127 E. Ray Road. The project broke ground in May 2021 before ElectraMeccanica took occupancy in June 2022. The Phoenix Business Journal reported the facility carried a $35 million price tag at the time of the groundbreaking.
“We’ve been looking forward to this day since ElectraMeccanica announced their intention to build this facility in Mesa,” Giles said. “We’re beyond pleased to have one of the leaders in innovative and cost-effective EVs opening their first U.S. facility in our city. Mesa has become a magnet for advanced manufacturing and supply-chain innovation — a thriving ecosystem for ElectraMeccanica’s new assembly and engineering facility.”
The company has recently partnered with American West Restaurant Group — the largest Pizza Hut franchisee in California and Utah. ElectraMeccanica lent them 15 Cargo Solos for a pilot program, according to Cronkite News.
ElectraMeccanica is just one of many electric vehicle producers that have decided to open operations in the Valley. Lucid Group, Nikola Corp., and Local Motors are building their vehicles in Arizona and other companies related to that industry are also bringing jobs to the state.