'Slate Auto’s all-electric truck aims to prove that affordable cars can be profitable—and adored.
A new automotive startup is betting that Americans are so fed up with high car prices they will consider buying a two-seat, all-electric pickup truck with hand-crank windows and no radio.
Slate Auto, a Michigan-based carmaker backed byhttps://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/AMZN AMZN -0.03%decrease; down pointing triangle
founder Jeff Bezos, is racing to begin production later this year of its first model: an overtly spartan, compact truck that will start at $24,950, the company said on Wednesday. Trucks like these have been missing from U.S. roads for over a decade.
Car buyers today have only eight new models to choose from under $25,000, with automakers warning that it is difficult, if not impossible, to turn a meaningful profit on such vehicles.
Slate thinks it can buck that trend. “A U.S. automaker can make an affordable vehicle—and not only an affordable vehicle, but an affordable vehicle that people love,” said Peter Faricy, Slate’s chief executive.
Faricy said gross margins will be positive for the base truck, and he expects costs to decline further for customers once Slate proves itself to its suppliers.
The company’s cost-cutting measures are novel: trading exterior paint for customizable $500 vinyl wraps, offering a dashboard mount for a smartphone instead of a navigation system, and selling a DIY-style add-on kit that transforms the pickup into a five-seat sport-utility vehicle
But will car buyers go for something as austere as Slate’s truck—let alone an electric one?'
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We could have much cheaper cars if the feds would stop meddling in the market. A large portion of the costs come from trying to meet arbitrary safety and environmental standards.