From the specs we are seeing, these all seem to be really promising, but I seriously would not preorder one or be the first person to buy it. Not hating on these electric vehicles, but this all seems a little bit to good to be true as of right now. All of these new vehicles are coming from newer companies that you haven’t heard of before and I think they are biting off way more than they can chew. The most concerning vehicle to me is the Atlis XT Electric Pickup. In order to make this truck into a reality, they have been using a crowdfunding website (
https://www.startengine.com/atlis-motor-vehicles) which is fine; but in the past there has been numerous product failures on items that are far less complex. The basic crowdfunding startup failure usually goes like this:
1.) A new company is formed that sets out to disrupt an industry with a new product
2.) This product is ground breaking, that offers so many features that no one else is offering
3.) The crowdfunding campaign gets tons media attention, and receives many investors
4.) Funding goal is met or exceeded
5.) Company starts shipping out orders, but too slowly
6.) First people get them, and the products turn out to less than promised
7.) Negative media attention and late orders.
8.) Company goes bankrupt because they are in so much debt and stops production
Not saying this will happen here, but this is still a real possibility. A good example of a disastrous crowdfunding project was Ouya, a video game console that set out to make a cheap $100 gaming system which would disrupt the Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo strong hold that usually costs $300-$400. They raised 8.5 million, even though they were only asking for 950K. The product failed miserably; watch here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0M5LzoBquw . I know this is a bit of a stretch to compare a new electric vehicle to a video game console, but it gives the idea.
That being said I do have a lot more faith in the Bollinger B1 since the design is so simple. I think this is more realistic for a new company to begin building because there isn’t too many things to go wrong with the vehicle from a mechanical and electrical standpoint. I really love how everything is bare bones, it reminds me of an old jeep CJ and looks like actually made for a harsh offroad setting unlike the other electric vehicles that have every new electronic/power operated gizmo on it. However, it might be too basic for most people. It does suffer from a lack of features we have come to expect on modern day cars and that could be a major turn off for people who plan to mostly use it on the road. I mean the thing doesn’t even have airbags. Here is a FAQ quote directly from their website “Will the trucks have airbags?
No, air bags will not be in the final produced trucks. We are engineering the B1 and B2 to safety standards that exceed federal regulation using seat belts.” Realistically, I only see this vehicle appealing to off-road enthusiasts who can appreciate that there vehicle being sold on the market today can that is a simple as vehicles in the 1970s but with a modern twist; an Electric motor. Because of that reason, I can see vehicle sales suffer.
Sorry this is kind of a unorganized rant, but it is hard to articulate my thoughts without ending up writing a whole Doctoral thesis on the subject!