In October 2021, Aptera produced the last of its Alpha prototypes, the Luna. It also clarified that it would make Beta units for multiple tests and eventually deliver the Gamma vehicles. These cars are pre-production vehicles, which should undergo reliability tests so that customers do not have issues when they receive their Delta (production) cars. In its May update, Aptera said the first Gamma solar trike would be revealed soon.
By soon we understand that we will see it until the end of June. Aptera also promised to disclose the final interior design of the car. We already know that it will feature a steering yoke. If Aptera did not make it have less than one turn from lock to lock, that might be the company’s first big mistake since it got back from the dead, similar to what Tesla did with the Model S and Model X. Let’s hope that this is not the case.
Aptera also announced that it had signed some crucial agreements to achieve mass production. One of them was with Yazaki, which is more than a mere supply deal. The Japanese wire harness, connector, and terminal supplier has an engineering partnership with Aptera to develop the best solutions for the electric trike. Avoiding unnecessary wires and connectors will make the vehicle lighter and more reliable.
Strangely, Aptera also said that it would source “distributed drive platform technologies” from Elaphe. The Slovenian company produces the in-wheel motors Aptera has used since the first Alpha vehicle, so it was only natural that they would stick together until production started, and years after that. Apparently, the big news about the deal is that high-series manufacturing will begin in Slovenia, and then move to the U.S.
We assumed that the Aptera would already use locally-made in-wheel motors due to costs. Elaphe probably preferred to check how demand would be before investing in an American facility. Curiously, Elaphe is also the supplier for Lordstown Motors. Theoretically, it already has enough reasons to build a factory in the U.S.
The last agreement Aptera disclosed was with Red Viking. This company will help the startup in its assembly lines with AGV (automated guided vehicles). Instead of a traditional production system with a double belt conveyor, the AGVs will transport the light Aptera bodies around the factory, which will make it much more flexible and require lower investments.
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