Aptera Intends to Invest 100 Million in Italy. Who Bets on the Solar-Powered Vehicle?

Aptera Motors is an American startup founded in 2006 by Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro. Aptera is a company involved in the development and creation of a futuristic three-wheeled vehicle powered by solar energy, thanks to the panels arranged on the roof.

Based in San Diego , California, the company has come out with a 100 million euro investment plan in Italy: the goal is to produce 20 thousand vehicles a year and generate up to 500 new jobs in a plant in Southern Italy. Let’s see what his journey was.

How much did Aptera raise?

According to Crunchbase, Aptera has raised more than $134 million overall. However, almost twenty years after its foundation, the company has not yet managed to put this solar-powered vehicle on the market.

As stated on the website, the hypothesis is that the vehicle will be distributed starting from 2025. In the meantime, the startup also announced the plan to bring its vehicle to the United Arab Emirates.

Why did Aptera choose the south?

The prospects for the company are ambitious: 1 million vehicles produced by 2030. But why focus on Italy? “The vehicle – are the words of CEO Steve Fambro – has a strong Italian “soul” and is strongly integrated into the national motor valley, with approximately 60% of its components and supplies coming from Italian suppliers, including CPC GROUP, COSTAMP, as well as close collaboration in the R&D field with the Pininfarina group for the optimization of the aerodynamic aspects of the vehicle.”

The presence of national suppliers could therefore favor a shorter logistics chain . At the moment it is not known exactly where this factory will be located in the South, but from the CEO’s words the intention to invest in the country seems clear. “This connection with Italy has pushed the Aptera management team to commit strongly to the country, with the support of the Government and in particular of Mimit, with the aim of establishing a highly efficient and technological production plant in the South.”

The history of this reality testifies on the one hand to the growing interest on the part of investors in automotive companies in the electric mobility sector ; on the other hand it highlighted the difficulties of these companies in reaching the market quickly. Finally, they are innovative subjects who need huge resources, which are not always easy to find. As The Verge recalls , in 2011 the company failed to secure a $150 million loan to develop Aptera 2e.

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(Featured image by geralt via Pixabay)

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