What The FUV: Why Arcimoto's Three-Wheeled EV Has Run Into Trouble
The fact that SUV stands for Sport Utility Vehicle isn't exactly specialist motoring knowledge. These vehicles, renowned for being rather rugged and capable while remaining practical, are a sort of perfect middle ground between cars and trucks. While all of this is well established, a very different type of vehicle with a very similar acronym arrived on the scene in recent years: the FUV.
What is an FUV? It's a Fun Utility Vehicle, a term seemingly coined by creator Arcimoto. The electric vehicle boom has certainly brought the world some curious machines, and this one, available for a cool $19,900, is guaranteed to turn fellow motorists' heads wherever it goes. Not necessarily for the most positive reasons, however.
Arcimoto's EV is a small, three-wheeled auto. It's absolutely unique, but perhaps too much so: It has struggled to find a concrete place for itself in the widening world of electric vehicles. Here's a closer look at Arcimoto's FUV, the rest of the range, and the company's changing fortunes as it battles to establish a niche for its intriguing EVs.
What is the Arcimoto FUV?
At 287 cm long and 165.1 cm in height, the FUV is a small package made in Eugene, in a variety of bright colors. With a range of 102 miles, a top speed of 75 mph, and wall outlet charge capacity for its NMC Lithium-Ion battery, the makers seemed to be trying to blend both the fun and utility aspects of the vehicle. It offers more than solid performance for its size.
Its size, however, holds it back somewhat. It's more of an electric trike/motorcycle, legally speaking than an electric car. This means that specific motorcycle licenses and helmets may be required to drive them, depending on laws in a given state. Arcimoto notes though, that "by demonstrating how simple it is to operate Arcimoto vehicles, we are working with legislators around the country to create exemptions for helmet and license requirements."
By doing so, it would be possible to open up Arcimoto's products to a wider potential base. Such restrictions aren't universally deemed necessary because the FUV boasts features such as the seatbelt and full body sported by other vehicles, which leaves those inside less exposed, whether to the elements or to potential accidents.
The FUV's goal was to establish itself as more than a hobby vehicle, and the inclusion of mods such as heated seats demonstrates this. However, Arcimoto has had a very difficult time both developing the vehicles and getting them to customers to date.
What went wrong with the FUV?
Between 2021 and February 2023, The Oregonian reported, the company's value plummeted from above $1 billion to just $7 million. The causes of this awful freefall in fortunes, it seems, are many.
Being such a specialized and unique mode of transportation, the FUV is built only at its Eugene, Oregon plant. Their development was not mass-produced, and a financial downturn unfortunately coincided with a 2022 expansion of the Arcimoto plant. This, in turn, could have increased overhead and curtailed the creation of FUVs further. Ultimately, just 228 of the vehicles found their way to fun-loving drivers in 2022, and Arcimoto deemed that year's Q4 sales of a grand total of 89 its "most successful quarter yet."
Another major issue is the price point: $19,900 is, of course, far from the price of an electric car, but that isn't what the FUV is or has ever claimed to be. To compete in the world of the auto is to tread that fine line between price tag, performance, and practicality, and the FUV must prove its worth in that sense.
Had mass production taken off, it's estimated that the price of an FUV could have been cut to $12,000, thereby making it a rather more tempting prospect. There is still potential for the company's ambitious aims to come to fruition, however.
Where can Arcimoto and its FUVs go from here?
Late in February 2023, after hefty and very cheap sales of company stock to the tune of around $12 million, the company was back in action and attempting to commit to improving both its vehicles and its production practices. In a press release at the time, the company boasted of the improved handling mechanics it will be implementing in its vehicles, stating that the year's deliveries would begin the following month. Arcimoto Interim CEO Jesse Fittipaldi said, "As we begin first deliveries in 2023, we continue to focus on improving vehicle drive quality, manufacturing costs down efforts, and increasing our brand reach to grow both our consumer and commercial sales volume."
At the time, around 500 FUVs were being driven on the roads of the United States. Expanding the range of vehicles is another key endeavor, and the May 2023 addition of the Arcimoto Modular Utility Vehicle was another significant step forward. Enhancing the practicality of Arcimoto's vehicles further, it, like the $25,000 Deliverator, has the same range as the FUV and is designed around the concept of compact, hassle-free, and more eco-friendly deliveries.
Mass production estimates of 50,000 vehicles in the span of a year are very ambitious, but if Arcimoto is able to retain momentum, it may well rise to become a powerhouse in the realm of electric vehicles.