Defiant Roadster wins innovation award at national IDTechEx Show
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
Good news this week for the team at Shockwave Motors located in Russellville, TN.
The start-up, which captured one of the three top honors during the 2015 business plan competition hosted by the Tennessee Veterans Business Association, received a big award yesterday at the IDTechEx Show in Santa Clara, CA. The company was honored with the “Most Significant Innovation Award” for its Defiant EV3 Electric Roadster.
In addition, Founder John McMillan told subscribers to his newsletter that Shockwave Motors is moving closer and closer to commercial production of the all-electric vehicle. The company is now accepting $750 deposits in anticipation of announcing a firm date for manufacturing.
“Plain and simple, the roadsters will be manufactured and delivered on a first come first served basis, so your $750 deposit reserves your place in line,” McMillan said in a recent email to his newsletter subscribers.
We asked him how close Shockwave is to actual production.
“While we are not in a position to give a specific date, we do believe we are on a pathway to manufacturing that will allow us to begin initial production in the next nine to 12 months,” McMillan said.
What’s the cost for the unique three-wheel vehicle?
“The all-electric roadster will have a price of $24,950, before any state or federal rebates are applied,” McMillan said. “We are working with various agencies to become authorized to offer a federal tax rebate that will reduce the price by several thousand dollars, perhaps to below $20,000.”
The price includes the basic battery system that will give the roadster up to a 200-mile per day range. The roadster has a single charge range of up to 100 miles and then plugs into any standard 120-volt outlet. McMillan says it takes about eight hours to fully recharge.
As far as production, McMillan says he would like to assemble the roadster in Morristown, but is exploring options in other locations including California and Florida.
Here’s a picture of the roadster at this week’s event in Santa Clara and a picture of the award poised atop the Defiant EV3.
You can also see all of our articles about Shockwave Motors at this link.
