Sondors Electric Car Crowdfunding In The Fast Lane
After eBike, Investors Pile Money Into Sondors Electric Car.
After an electrifying reception to its electric bike crowdfunding campaign last year, Sondors is now on track for another successful fund-raising drive for what it calls the “most attractive, affordable electric car ever”.
It’s been three weeks since the company’s founder, Storm Sondors, rolled out a crowdfunding effort to make the Sondors Electric Car, which would be called ‘Model SONDORS’. The company has raised $480,924 from 679 investors at the time of writing, just under half of its $1 million funding goal.
That gives Sondors a run rate of $2.17 million if the investments keep rolling in at this pace for the remaining 74 days. However the offering will close once the $1 million target is met, according to its statement.
It is offering up to 83,333 shares of common stock worth $999,996 or $12 a share, which will expand its current shares base by 3.08% to 2.783 million common stocks outstanding. This values the Sondors Electric Car Company at $33.39 million. The minimum investment threshold is set at $120 or ten common shares.
If successfully developed, ‘Model SONDORS’ will seat three people, has three wheels each and come with three different battery pack options. Buyers will be able to choose from 50, 100 or 200 miles in driving range on a single charge.
With the proceeds from the crowdfunding, Sondors hope to design and develop a working prototype that will be ready for unveiling within 12 months after the fund-raising ends. It expects sales to exceed 120,000 units in the first year.
The targeted selling price is just $10,000 per unit, which puts it well below starting prices for several existing models in the market now. For example, a base model of the Nissan Leaf, which is the best-selling pure electric vehicle in U.S. history and can go up to 84 miles on a single charge, begins at $29,010.
Now, the latest crowdfunding will not beat the record set by the Sondors Electric Bike campaign — the Sondors eBike, as it is called, which had raised over $6 million from 15,000 backers by the time it closed and remains Indiegogo’s second most successful to date.
A marked difference, however, is that the current campaign offers investors shares in the company whereas the eBike campaign offered an electric bike in return for support. “We want to offer you a piece of the company so that you can realize the potential financial success of the company with us,” said the company.
The run rate remains impressive, which signals strong interest from the public for affordable options vis-à-vis electric vehicles from players outside of the normal range of established automakers.
