Arcimoto’s US-built, 3-wheeled electric car prepares to go global

Eugene, Oregon-based Arcimoto is preparing to go global and has just hired a chief international business officer to oversee international expansion.

Arcimoto snatched up former Mahindra executive Dilip K. Sundaram as the company’s new chief international business officer.

Sundaram was the former president – Corporate Affairs of Mahindra Group – Americas.

Arcimoto founder and CEO Mark Frohnmayer elaborated further:

Arcimoto was created in Oregon to solve a truly pressing global problem. I’m thrilled to welcome Dilip to Arcimoto, where he will spearhead our international expansion efforts, and introduce our family of vehicles to markets that stand to benefit the most from pure electric, right-sized transportation.

Sundaram will bring to Arcimoto over 20 years of automotive experience. Before joining Mahindra Group – Americas, where he led operations in the US, Canada, and Latin America, Sundaram served as president of Mahindra Korea.

He came to that role after serving as chief financial officer of SsangYong Motor, Korea’s third-largest automotive company.

As Sundaram expanded:

Arcimoto is on the cusp of revolutionizing the way we commute and travel, and I am delighted to join the team. Arcimoto EVs set new standards for efficiency, affordability, and fun. This is an incredible opportunity to bring right-sized transportation to global markets, and to accelerate Arcimoto’s mission to catalyze the shift to a sustainable transportation system.

Arcimoto’s premier product, the Fun Utility Vehicle (FUV), is currently in low-volume production while the company prepares to ramp up to higher volume of 50,000 units/year.

The 75 mph (120 km/h) EV sits on three wheels with a tadpole trike setup consisting of two wheels in front and one wheel in the rear. That orientation is more stable, though the low center of gravity from the large battery pack already makes the vehicle highly stable.

Last week I took a test ride in both the Arcimoto FUV and the Arcimoto Roadster, an open-top version of the FUV that is more like a motorcycle (and requires a motorcycle helmet in many states since it lacks the FUV’s roll cage).

Both were incredibly fun – so much more so than I had expected going in. I’ll have a complete review of the experience soon, but for now you can get a sense based on my smile in the clips below.

Check back for my full test-ride experience on both the Arcimoto FUV and Roadster soon. They’re incredibly unique vehicles that truly bring out your inner kid.