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Vectrix

post #1 of 11
4/17/09 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 

Vectrix has layed off 60 workers and seems to be desperately looking for money.

 

Quote:

 Vectrix Announces Exploration of Strategic Initiatives and Reduction in Work Force

Middletown, R.I.- April 14 - Vectrix Corporation (AIM: VRX) (www.vectrix.com), maker of the world's first high performance, two-wheel zero emission vehicle (ZEV), announces that while its efforts continue to secure new equity funding and government based loan or grant support as well as temporary financing, the Directors will now begin to seek other strategic alternatives which could include a merger or sale of the business. The Company will continue to provide updates to the market as we progress through these activities. In order to conserve working capital for continuing operations during this period, the Company this week implemented cost savings measures including a significant reduction in workforce involving some 60 staff.

 

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge bummer

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post #2 of 11
4/17/09 at 9:38am

Looking at the www.motorcycle-usa.com article it is easy to understand why.

 

Being green is not enough to get people to pay too much of a premium. You have to meet all the normal rules of commerce plus be green.

 

1. Have a product in demand - yesterday I read about a sidewalk covering which generated power from people walking on it - the power generated will be soooo small and it will cost - dead on arrival

2. Have a quality people will accept

3. Meet relevant government standards - such as DOT, FDA 

4. Have acceptable style or content - for the normal market, not just super greens

5. Have an acceptable price point - be competetive and don't expect the general public to pay a big premium

6. Do reasonable market studies before starting - don't sit and plan with only a bunch of greens if you plan to rely on the general public to buy the product.

7. Recognize you are the newbie on the market - you will probably have to jump through hoops the first few years

 

From the Brian Harley article it sounds like Vectrix has a substantially higher price point compared to the competetion and people getting 100 mpg are not as worried about mileage as someone getting 20.

 

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post #3 of 11
5/17/09 at 8:40pm

Where's the economic stimulus money?  If Obama wants to help the environment helping this company rather than refineries is the way to go. 

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post #4 of 11
5/23/09 at 11:24am

Helping losers lose more - sounds like giving money to the banks or auto companies.

 

This stimilus is going to be difficult to pay back in years to come so it would be nice to see some common sense used in passing it out. 

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post #5 of 11
7/17/09 at 10:05pm
 New information on Vectrix from GreenTech Media. Sounds like Vectrix is down the drain.

The company has laid everyone off but essential staff, and they are staying on to file for bankruptcy proceeding.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/green-light/post/electric-scooter-company-vectrix-going-through-death-throes/
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post #6 of 11
7/18/09 at 9:04am
Thread Starter 
Ah man I just hate to see that.  The Vectrix is such a great vehicle.  Here's the press release.

Quote:
Vectrix Corporation (AIM: VRX) (www.vectrix.com) announces that it has laid
off all but essential staff in an effort to conserve cash while continuing to pursue strategic options including the sale of the Company. Remaining staff will simultaneously begin the process of preparing for a bankruptcy filing under Delaware law with a view to filing in the next thirty days in the event continuing efforts prove unsuccessful.

The Company has been operating in challenging market conditions for some time as a result of the credit crunch and lack of consumer spending on bigger ticket retail purchases. The Company has made every effort to reduce costs and conserve cash, but market conditions continue to be difficult and the results of sales have been very disappointing. During the current fiscal year management has explored options to secure financing for the Company as well as other initiatives including the sale of the Company as a going concern.
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post #7 of 11
7/22/09 at 7:58pm
 Hi, I'm the owner of the V is for Voltage forum.. just wanted to mention that VisForVoltage has a lot of Vectrix owners and they've been chatting up a storm about this.

I also write for examiner.com covering green transportaton and decided to do some deep coverage of this story.  It's a three part article, so start here:  Why Vectrix is teetering on bankruptcy, pt. I
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post #8 of 11
7/22/09 at 9:50pm
Thread Starter 
Hi David.  I think I just heard you on the EVCast today.

Good, thorough article.  Interesting point that they might have been better off maintaining an Italy-centric sales strategy rather than focusing so much on the US where scooters aren't very common.

Funny coincidence, I just registered on V is for Voltage a couple hours ago.

Edited by dana1981 - 7/23/2009 at 05:25 am GMT
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post #9 of 11
7/22/09 at 10:39pm
 Good article David,

The world of startups isn't an easy one to survive in. Virtually everything has to go reasonably right with good technical and commercial decisions up to the point sales pick up and can carry you.

The audience electrics are appealing to is rather small at this time as the benifit of lower fuel costs is generally taken up in the suppliers pocket as you noted. That pretty much leaves only hardcore 'don't make CO2' people as customers.

Until battery costs are gotten under control - this 1000 USD per kW is a killer.

For anyone who does not have private parking charging is a big deal - if you run a cord out to the sidewalk you could end up charging the neighbor hood plus have the cord stolen. Nissan seems to be very interested in this point. 
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post #10 of 11
8/13/09 at 3:53pm
What a shame!  I had high hopes for this company.  I was really interested in their superbike prototype.  Wonder what they will do with all the excess vectrix scooters. 
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post #11 of 11
1/6/10 at 12:12pm
Thread Starter 
Some good news on this front.

Quote:
GP Batteries has purchased New Vectrix and certain Vectrix assets...New Vectrix was formed by GH Ventures and GP Batteries. That earlier announcement described the intention that New Vectrix would buy the assets of Vectrix for a total purchase price of up to $5,056,000 (including cash payments and assumed liabilities), subject to an auction process and approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy court. GP Batteries have now announced the deal has been made. Following from the news last week from Hesketh Motors that they'd made an agreement to distribute and service Vectrix scooters (see: Is Hesketh Motors signaling the rebirth of Vectrix?) it appears the rebirth of Vectrix is underway.

Vectrix is an awesome electric vehicle, so I'm super happy to hear this news!  Apparently GP had previously been cooperating with Vectrix on the development of Lithium-ION batteries for the bike, so the new Vectrixes may very well have an improved speed and range over the previous NiMh versions.
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