Cars are simply not built for the stresses ofmodern cities.
But one company thinks its cracked the code for the perfect city vehicle: Arcimoto and its electric autocycles.
These aresomewhere betweena car, bike, and motorcycle.
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Its built on a platform the company also uses to create its other models.
These are designed for use cases such asrapid response, and delivery work, with compactdelivery vanandflatbed truck-stylevehicles available.
And this design and technology can be used by other automakers.
For example, a company calledFactionis deploying Arcimotos technology to create the Faction D1.
Faction has planned pilot customer trials for this year.
Autocycles offer an alternative.
Further, Arcimoto provides an alternative to themicrocartrend.
At 193cm, this is something Frohnmayer feels passionate about, as manymicrocarsare unusable for him.
I cant even fit in the front of theTwizylet alone the backseat, he told us.
The ride experience certainly doesnt fit the North American idea of what driving should feel like.
This isnt a recipe for success.
So whats it like to drive an Arcimoto vehicle?
I reached out to a community of Arcimoto users to get their take on the vehicles.
The downsides
But its not all smooth sailing for the Arcimoto either.
But it simply doesnt have the range, or charging capacity, especially when riding uphill at high speed.
People also demand a lot from vehicles.
On top of this, the legal status and safety requirements of autocycles differfrom state to state.
It also suffers from a lack of fast charging.
Is the company broadening its scope too fast?
The oddest part of Arcimotos event was its second new vehicle reveal.
Back in 2021, the company acquiredTilting Motor Works.
It comes with a new pedal generator with no belt or chain.
Look, this seems like a lot of fun.
And we cant escape the reality that Arcimotos manufacturing has been slow.
It grew from a mere 47 vehicles in 2018 to a still unimpressive 300 in 2021.
Im not sure, but I hope so.
Itll be fascinating to see if Arcimoto achieves its plans.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
