ElectraMeccanica updates timeline for Mesa EV manufacturing facility
ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp. (Nasdaq: SOLO), the Canada-based electric vehicle manufacturer and designer, on Thursday revised the timeline of its upcoming assembly facility in Mesa.
The company now expects the 235,000-square-foot U.S. assembly and engineering technical center to open in the summer of 2022 and will have the ability to produce up to 20,000 vehicles per year.
The plant, which is expected to employ 500 people, is being constructed at 8127 E. Ray Road in Mesa.
The $35 million factory, which broke ground in May 2021, was expected to open in the spring of 2022. While opening is a several months delayed from that original target, ElectraMeccanica’s CEO Kevin Pavlov said he is pleased with the progress being made and the execution of his team across all fronts.
“As we work to finalize the facility, we are concurrently working in other ElectraMeccanica facilities to identify assembly best-practices to ensure an optimized, highly efficient production line,” Pavlov said in a statement. “As we continue to execute and deliver vehicles, we have built out sales, logistics and service networks to support all near-term delivery targets as we ramp production and sales. The U.S. base of operations in Mesa, Arizona is a critical component to this cohesive strategy.”
ElectraMeccanica is currently assembling the first of its three-wheeled, one-person vehicles in China, but the goal is to eventually have enough of the components and assembly done in Mesa that the vehicles can be labeled as made in the United States. Production at the assembly plant will use kits produced by the company’s manufacturing partner, Zongshen Industrial Group, based in China.
The vehicle, called the Solo, is already available for preorder. It costs $18,500.
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.