Santa Monica Electric Vehicles

Britton Jackson · Thu, 07/08/2010 - 12:40

Business
Technology
Team
Financials

Business

Business Overview:

Over almost a decade, we have developed technology that is more efficient, more powerful and more flexible but less costly than the competition. We are now designing, manufacturing and distributing a line of electric bikes, trikes and Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) to the American market through our relationships with existing specialty retailers, our own retail operation and through the rapidly expanding EV sales in big box retailers like Best Buy. Many of our products are also targeted at the B2B market where we will concurrently be executing our fleet sales go to market plan. In cases where a product is outside our field of expertise or doesn't match our supply chain, we will partner with other manufacturers. Our first vehicle has entered production and our next three are fully prototyped and tested ready to follow on within 2 months of further financing. We have already prototyped and tested all vehicles in our first 5 years model of financial projections

Project Type:

Green Products & Production

Industry:

Transportation/Trucking/Railroad

Project Location:

Santa Monica, CA, 90403

United States

See map: Google Maps

Project Website:

http://www.SantaMonicaEV.com

What are your future milestones, and how much capital will you need to achieve each of the milestones outlined?:

Bootstrapping COMPLETE 10 model product line developed, prototyped and tested 3 core patents filed or granted Initial Retail channels researched Initial Fleet channels identified. First 3 researched Supply Chain established Primary staff identified Seed Round IN PROGRESS Fleet go to market research and strategy for 8 (of 12) segments Fleet Agreements (x2) Fleet Segment Ambassadors signed (3) Retail product in 2-6 Independent Bike Dealers with 50 more researched 3 additional patent filed Field Testing on first OEM component unit First 3 products fielded Series A Complete executive team (already identified) Engage full fleet strategy Expand IBD retail channels Develop Big Box retail Channels Identify further OEM partner opportunities Open flagship store to tighten customer feedback loop and shorten development and testing of new products

What is your total and operating cash burn (the amount you're spending) per month? :

Cash burn is currently approximately $18,000 per month

How many future rounds of financing do you project? :

We anticipate a total target raise of $2,000,000 which lets us reach profitability and sustainability.

Services Desired:

Legal-Corporate

Human Capital/Recruiting

Distribution/Sales

Grant Writer

Capital Broker/Dealer

Who is the Customer?:

In the consumer market we have 4 products which each target specific demographics which have proven receptive to light electric vehicles in the past and have established sales channels. In the B2B market, we have identified 10 markets so far (Academic Campuses, Delivery, Ports, Malls, etc) and have matched our product line to specific transportation applications and needs we have identified in our research on those individual markets. In all cases, our primary selling point is not "Green" but a straight value proposition: our vehicles cost less to buy and to use. Green is a bonus.

What is the Customer Pain that you are solving?:

With $4 gasoline back in much of the country, many businesses and consumers simply cannot afford to be limited to two transportation options: walk or drive a two ton vehicle. There are clearly times when cars are the best choice. They cannot, however, continue to be the only choice. For many applications, cars are too expensive and really impractical. We don't propose to eliminate cars or turn the U.S. from a car culture. We do propose alternatives that make sense from a financial perspective as well as offering a significant quality of life improvement.

Names of any current or recent customers:

We are executing MOUs to place initial units with NBC/Universal, Westfield Malls, and several local college campuses in the next 45 days.

What is the Target Market?:

On the consumer side, the U.S. market for electric bikes in 2011 is predicted at 350,000 units and growing to 500,000 in 2012. With an average price of over $600, that makes the market over $200 million in 2011. These numbers don't include trikes, scooters or other LEVs. On the B2B side, we have identified over 10 quadrants that are each at least $200 million dollar markets. Initially we will focus locally on Malls, Film Studios, Academic & Corporate Campuses and Ports.

How big is the Target Market in terms of Annual Sales?:

$1B-$2B

Sales/Marketing Strategy:

Our first year distribution plan will focus on fleet buyers, wholesaling to regional shops specializing in light electric vehicles and our own retail location. Initial marketing will be through online sites focused on LEV enthusiasts and local advertising near retailers carrying the products. In year two we will expand distribution targeting at least one big box retailer like Best Buy which is currently running regional test marketing for LEVs.

Provide use cases :

A restaurant near a college campus needs fast, inexpensive product delivery. An electric trike travels on sidewalks as well as streets and parks right next to a dorm or campus office. The driver requires no license and the vehicle requires no vehicle liability insurance. A mall manager needs to survey the entire property at least twice a day. Currently that is done on foot or in a car which is difficult to get though traffic, isolating and expensive. Our trike lets the manager conduct a more thorough survey more quickly and efficiently. A senior citizen can no longer drive a car but needs to get to the grocery store and post office in their retirement community. They have also been advised that they need more exercise. They don't feel stable on a bicycle. An electric, recumbent trike is comfortable to sit on, stable to ride and provides as much or as little exercise as necessary while running errands or visiting friends.

Competition:

In the consumer bike market, Currie is the biggest e bike seller in the U.S. with a mix of low cost units sold through big box retailers and higher cost units sold through IBDs. Ultramotor has one model (A2B) being sold through Best Buy and IBDs. Several other companies are selling units designed for the EU market which are underpowered for the U.S. All of these companies rely on the traditional hub motor drive and have no unique drive technology of their own. On the B2B side, we won't so compete with existing golf cart and similar companies, we will identify partners to whom we can license our technology.

One-line Pitch:

Santa Monica EV designs, partners, markets and sells e-vehicles up to and including compact car size, embodying its patented G3™ and AutoTurbo™ gearing technology platforms. These provide 50% more torque and 40% better efficiency than competitors with generally lower BOMs. �

Business Model:

Our revenue will come from product sales (both wholesale and retail, consumer and B2B) for the vehicle classifications in which we have expertise and in which our supply chain is already set up. For larger or specialized vehicles we will partner with manufacturers already experienced in the field (in several cases already identified) with existing supply chains and either build OEM components or directly license our technology.

Product/Services Overview (what does it do):

We will deliver an entire product line which provides specific, affordable transportation solutions for both consumers and corporate fleet users. Unlike most LEV companies who launch with one or two products, we are able to meet the varied needs in the market with superior performing products. Our technology can also be licensed to other manufacturers of electric vehicles to provide a more cost effective solution for their drive systems.

Technology

What makes the technology/business unique and have a defendable competitive advantage?:

Not only do we have patents on our IP but we have development and manufacturing access & control that no other competitor can match. Our years of experience also give us better contacts in the sales channels. Our builder OEM'd for Lee Iacocca's EV company starting in 1998 and has been supplying companies around the world since. In addition, 4 years ago, they launched a sales and distribution division in the US which was sold profitably within 10 months. We know exactly how many US vehicles have been sold and by whom.

Describe in detail the technology used in the Project - Address the innovation in significant detail :

We have two drive technologies that are covered by several patents which are either granted or pending. Both rely on off the shelf components which cuts development costs and speeds deployment. Both provide more efficiency and more power than competing drives and at a lower price. Unlike most electric bikes, G3 Drive runs an electric motor into a standard, bicycle derailleur. This means a single speed motor now has 7 speeds giving much greater power and efficiency but adding little or no cost. It also means that if you choose to pedal, you can increase your range by 40%. AutoTurbo applies to a wider range of vehicles. Instead of one big expensive motor, AutoTurbo uses a series of small, low-cost motors, each of which acts as its own gear. The computer changes gears automatically. Not only is this much more efficient, but also less expensive. It has already been successfully installed and tested on vehicles as large as a cargo truck.

What are the principles of the technology? :

Most LEV companies that have proprietary technology are either developing electric motors or batteries. Both of these are very capital intensive and require long lead times to production. We use mechanical advantages with off the shelf motors and batteries. If a new, better, cheaper motor or battery comes along, we can quickly integrate it in our systems. Also, our drives are flexible. Performance parameters can be adjusted quickly in software or by changing a few gears. Most importantly, our drives are scalable. We have already successfully applied AutoTurbo to vehicles as large as pick-up trucks. While our business plan starts with bikes and trikes, we have already prototyped and tested our second and third acts.

What, if anything, has been proven (and how far is this from a commercial scale)? :

Our recumbent electric trike with AutoTurbo drive has already entered production. We have several clients ready to place evaluation units as soon as possible. We have also negotiations for our first license for AutoTurbo technology. The rest of our initial product line has been fully prototyped, extensively tested and is ready to start production within a couple of months of financing. All of the vehicles in our five year projections have been prototyped and tested as well.

What challenges/risk does the technology face for commercialization?:

• Lawsuits: Any time you have wheeled vehicles you have the potential for lawsuits. • Better capitalized competitors: If the Company does establish a substantial market, there are always larger companies that will come in and try to outspend on advertising and marketing even if their products are technically inferior. • Ever dropping price points: Since the influx of Chinese bikes a few years ago, price points have steadily dropped. On a positive note, this is possible because component and assembly costs have decreased which will lower G3 and AutoTurbo production costs even as wholesale prices have to fall.

Patent Numbers (Filed/Approved):

Available on request.

Team

Name	Title
Britton Jackson	CEO
Tom Boyle	CTO
Steve Clark	CFO
Ben Constable	DIRECTOR
Carl Bressler	DIRECTOR

Percy Chien, Wettsen Electric Bikes

Bruce Austin, Multimedia Programmer and Producer

Mike Malloy, Vehicle Designer

Rebecca Jackson, Esq

Jim Fetterley, E Bike Sales

Current Investors:

Founders

Financials

Amount Sought:

$2,000,000

If raising funds, what shall the funds be used for?:

Sales & Marketing Production Start-Up Costs Inventory Operations A full breakdown is available on request.

Funding Stage:

Pre-Revenue

Funding History:

Funding Round	Funding Type	Funding date	Funding Source/ Investors	Amount	Pre-Money valuation
			3ME	0	0

Internal Rate of Return (IRR):

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Testimonials

Guy marchand

I have a passion for electric vehicles, both motorcycles and cars. I was wondering if it is possible to become an "electric car mechanic", or anything that works with electric vehicles? svenska spelautomater

Fri, 03/29/2013 - 02:03

Or kooper

Did you hear of a company named better place? (you can search on Wikipedia, its CEO was Shay Agassi, and old friend from school). This company have had the same vision: Create electric cars. The problem is that were very expensive and more than that - local mechanics didn't know how to handle an electric car, which made the operation very expensive. When you market a new product make it cheap, even if you lose some money in the beginning.

Mon, 04/08/2013 - 07:53

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Thu, 04/18/2013 - 18:32

Andy Schwartz

Yet another promising company, but I'm not sure they will make it. Why? because their prediction is not exact they predict: "U.S. market for electric bikes in 2011 is predicted at 350,000 units and growing to 500,000 in 2012" I'm noit sure this really happened.

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I think the electric car has a huge future, since gasoline is reduce in the world.

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