Elio Motors, the start-up vehicle manufacturer planning to launch a USD7,000 three-wheeled vehicle that will get up to a claimed 84 mpg, has signed a Letter of Intent with Linamar Corp, a powertrain development and production company.
Under the agreement, Linamar will partner with Elio for the manufacturing of the Elio motors for Elio, as well as for engines for global use in the automotive, marine and industrial sectors outside of the US. The 0.9-litre, 3-cylinder engine, which Elio Motors developed with partner IAV, could have applications far beyond the company's initial vehicle, Elio says.
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Elio claims the engine will achieve up to 84 mpg, yet still reach speeds of more than 100 mph.
"Elio Motors has developed an engine with a rare blend of power and fuel efficiency that could have significant market potential beyond powering the Elio," said Elio Motors founder and CEO Paul Elio.
"Linamar will use its global presence and access to international manufacturers in automotive, marine and industrial markets to identify other uses for our engine and open up potential additional revenue for our company."
Linamar also will be a component and sub-system supplier for Elio Motors' other driveline and chassis systems in North America. They will collaborate with Elio Motors to create engine manufacturing capabilities at the Elio Motors' assembly plant in Louisiana to support the high-volume production of the Elio engine.
"We are excited about partnering with Elio on this important engine project, " said Linda Hasenfratz, CEO of Linamar. "Not only does this give us great penetration into ultra-high mileage vehicles, it also gives us a chance to sell this highly efficient engine to a variety of markets and customers."
"Elio Motors is the first start-up vehicle manufacturer to develop its own internal combustion engine in the automotive industry in more than 60 years," said Gino Raffin, Vice President of Manufacturing of Elio Motors. "We're looking forward to working with Linamar to manufacture the engine in our Shreveport facility as we move it toward commercial production."
Elio's first manufacturing site will be in Shreveport, Louisiana. It has fallen behind its initial plan to start manufacturing in 2014 and said last month that it has now completed "final engineering" for the car.
