Aptera refunds all customers’ deposits raising question to brand’s future

Last week, we provided a list of carmakers that currently or are in the process of producing electric vehicles for consumption. Some have the resources to pull it off while others don’t. And unfortunately, Aptera is one of those makers that don’t exactly have those resources.

Just today, the small brand has just announced that they will be refunding all of their customer deposits for their 2e all-electric car or the 2h hybrid, which makes Aptera’s future very questionable.

Aptera entered the green-car market with the Automotive X Prize in 2008, the company’s two-seat commuter vehicle that claimed to get 300mpg while costing less than $30,000.

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But due to engineering and funding woes, the 2e never met its launch date in late 2009 and Aptera said that the 2e would be released the following year in 2010. However, that didn’t happen so Aptera is refunding all of their deposits due to troubles with their credit-card processor. And that wasn’t expected to be fixed until six months from now, long past the Aptera’s originally launch date.

“Reservation-holder contact information will be moved to our newly created VIP database and used to provide you with exclusive information about future happenings at Aptera,” said the company in a statement. “As our production date approaches, we will use the database to direct you to your local retailer so you can be among the first to own an Aptera vehicle.”

– By: Chris Chin

Source: AutoWeek