We sit here in mid-December with the majority of our parts being tooling up and many parts arriving for our first production run of 6-10 vehicles.

We are setting up the factory here in Cleveland with weld tables, build stations, production 3D printers, and an army of innovative U.S. and European suppliers. We have staffed up to 7 people here in the U.S., with the addition of a full time fabricator and a full time assembly person.

Our battery factory in Germany is in complete lockdown….. again, delaying our first production samples until either mid or end of January. The issues working internationally are now more prevalent than ever. Globalization is great when it works, the pandemic has proven however that a seamless international transfer of goods is difficult at the best of times.

Ever go into a store and try to buy a seasonal item during the actual season? Sold out for another 12 months, because the orders were predicted 6 months ago, produced 3 months ago, spent 4 weeks on a boat and another 2 getting to the distribution warehouse. Is this the globalization that works for you?

Every time we work with an expert supplier, it brings up more issues than it solves. In this new world of electric vehicles, most of the suppliers are making it up as they go, selling ideas, but lacking the ability to actually produce that technology……. and so it goes, a brave new world!

Our team has been in the manufacturing space for some time now. We simply have to acknowledge what is working and what is not with the global supply base. When all else fails manifest destiny and invest internally, that is what we are doing. We are also making a concerted effort to work more locally, and engage our supplier base within a 500 mile radius.

Forward we go, with no fear of hiding the journey, it’s all part of the process of growing the next great U.S. technology / manufacturing company.

Some images of our happy team gearing up for production.