Thread: Aptera hiring 500, moving headquarters to Oceanside

AUTO: Aptera hiring 500, moving headquarters to Oceanside

CEO hopes to make 22,000 high-mileage vehicles a year

By BRADLEY J. FIKES - bfikes@nctimes.com
April 14, 2010 4:45 pm

CARLSBAD ---- Aptera Motors Inc., said Wednesday that it plans to move its headquarters from Vista to Oceanside and hire 500 people.

The company also announced it has received more funding to produce the Aptera 2e, its long-delayed, ultra-efficient electric car. The retooled Aptera 2e delivers the equivalent of 200 miles per gallon, said Paul Wilbur, the company's CEO.

"No one ever said that building a vehicle was easy," Wilbur said, explaining the delay. "It literally takes millions of hours of engineering time to build up a vehicle from scratch." He and other Aptera officials spoke at an event held at McClellan-Palomar Airport.

Aptera has signed a contract to purchase a 200,000-square-foot building in Oceanside's Rancho del Oro area, said Laura Marion, the company's chief financial officer. The company plans to complete its move from Vista by the end of the year.

The Oceanside headquarters will be able to make up to 22,000 of the vehicles a year, Wilbur said. The price for the two-seat three-wheeler (two in front, one in back), is expected to range from the mid-$20,000s to the mid-$40,000s.

While Wilbur spoke, the latest version of the Aptera 2e spun into the Premier Jet hangar where the event was held. The hangar was equipped with nightclub-style colored lights and sound system. Guests were offered a buffet luncheon.

Aptera emerged with a burst of publicity in 2007. Hundreds of would-be owners plunked down refundable $500 deposits for a vehicle that at that time was promoted as getting the equivalent of 300 miles per gallon. Plans include a hybrid version, but the company has focused on the all-electric model.

The vehicle's built-from-the-ground up vision was part of its appeal. Its body is made of lightweight composites able to rebound from impacts. Ultra-aerodynamic styling reduces air friction.

On a larger scale, alternative, energy-efficient vehicles appeal to customers wishing to "go green." More recently, such vehicles have become a priority to the Obama administration, with its desire to improve vehicle mileage.

However, Aptera has fallen behind its original schedule by nearly two years. The company has kept a low profile for several months, leading to widespread speculation about its viability.

One chance

Wilbur said the company needed to focus on its work. Aptera was raising funds in a difficult economic climate, while at the same time re-engineering its original vehicle to auto industry consumer standards.

Aptera will get only one chance to make a good impression, Wilbur said.

"Our objective has to be to assure the quality, reliability and durability ---- the safety elements ---- are there from the start, for every customer," Wilbur said. "We can't have any compromises on that."

Both goals have been achieved, said Wilbur and other Aptera officials at the event.

Aptera has raised nearly $10 million in the last month from investors, and is in the process of completing another funding round, Wilbur said.

The company has also applied to the Department of Energy for a five-year, $184 million loan through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.

Wilbur credited Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, for helping Aptera qualify for the loan. Whether the loan will be granted, though, remains up to the Energy Department.

Wilbur said Aptera will eventually employ 2,500 people, if all goes according to plan. He also said 10,000 jobs will be created indirectly for component suppliers, retailers and other companies involved with Aptera.

The X Factor

The "production-intent" model has been revised to meet traditional auto customer expectations, Wilbur said, including expected amenities such as roll-down windows absent from the original model.

That revised model is scheduled to compete in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, to be held in Michigan.

The $10 million prize is to be awarded to the developer of a clean-energy vehicle ready for production that exceeds the equivalent of 100 gallons per gallon. That's measured by calculating how much electricity needs to be made from fossil fuel-using power plants to charge its batteries.

Visit www.aptera.com.

Call staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at 760-739-6641. Read his blogs at bizblogs.nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/business/article ... e6f16.html

These cars fascinate me. Maybe I should apply...

All-electric hopes / Hundreds of jobs riding on Aptera prototype vehicle

By Union-Tribune Editorial Board,
Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 2:15 a.m.

Five hundred manufacturing jobs in Oceanside and a chance for 2,500.

Those are the stakes as Aptera Motors tries to bring an all-electric car to market. Aptera would be the star of an emerging alternative automotive cluster in North County.

Among recent progress by the company:

• It has acquired a 200,000-square-foot building in Oceanside.

• It is halfway through the process for a $184 million federal loan, has obtained $10 million in new financing and counts NRG Energy among its backers.

• The car is a finalist in an X Prize competition, which would give it instant third-party validation.

• Order backlog exceeds $100 million.

Challenges lie ahead. Two more financing rounds must be completed before production could start 11 months later. Aptera’s two-seater has lost its first-to-market chance to Nissan’s five-seater, due in November.

Yet, auto enthusiasts are excited by Aptera’s three-wheeled prototypes, built of carbon-fiber materials and styled like an airplane fuselage. Pricing is still a vague $25,000 to $40,000.

Count Oceanside City Councilman Jerry Kern among the enthusiasts. He rode in the latest version before it circled Oceanside Municipal Airport for 100 miles nonstop.

This story will be like watching the homegrown baseball phenom try to crack the Big Leagues. Only here, making it to The Show means 500 jobs for local fans and all-star-caliber play counts for 2,500. That’s something to root for.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010 ... ptera-pro/

I wish they'd say where the new building in Oceanside is. I went to their website and there is no info on it.