A former motorcycle seat manufacturer is set to take on the major auto manufacturers in California's nascent electric-car market.
Mike Corbin hopes to have his stylish, one-person Sparrow in full production by August, with a price tag under US$13,000 - a sticker well below that of the first consumer models built by General Motors and Honda.
The Sparrow is a three-wheeled, 900-pound fiberglass vehicle designed for short-hop commuters who usually travel alone. The rear-mounted 96-volt traction motor can propel the car with one person and about three bags of groceries to speeds of up to 65 miles per hour for about 60 miles between charges.
Full recharging of the Sparrow's eight 12-volt lead-acid batteries can take as little as two hours, and requires approximately 9 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Pacific Gas and Electric spokesman Bill Sessa said the average price for a kilowatt hour in California is just under 12 cents, which allows a Sparrow owner to travel about 56 miles per dollar spent on charging.
Regular maintenance involves nothing more than adding water to the batteries.
Bob Hayden, executive director of the Electric Vehicles Association of the Americas (EVAA), a member trade association representing major manufacturers, considers the Sparrow strictly a niche product.
"The major auto companies are not interested in that market, and don't see it as a big one," said Hayden. "Everyone acknowledges there are smaller niche markets."
He added that the majors are most interested in commercial fleet markets, and while there are retail electric vehicles available for lease - such as GM's EV-1 and Honda's forthcoming EV Plus - they are positioned as second vehicles for early adopters.
But John Ortiz, an engineer with Corbin's company (also called Corbin) and one of the designers of the Sparrow, says the vehicle would be ideal for small-company fleet applications, such as employee shuttles. "The Sparrow makes an ideal station car," he said. "A company could own several of them, park them at a [subway] station, and their employees could drive them between there and the office, several miles away. They would be recharged at the office, ready for the next commuter to drive back to the station."
US Department of Transportation regulations classify three-wheel vehicles as motorcycles. So the Sparrow is inexpensive to register and insure, and drivers can legally use car-pool lanes and park perpendicular to the curb. Creature comforts include windows that roll down, a heater, and a compact-disc player. Corbin claims that drivers up to six and a half feet tall can sit comfortably inside.
Ortiz took the Sparrow prototype to Daytona Bike Week, an annual motorcycle rally in Florida, where it was very well received. "I'd say that the general reaction was something like 'Wow, that's cute,' even from the huge, bearded Harley riders," observed Ortiz, "I was driving it down Main Street, watching people try to grab their cameras and take a picture." This isn't surprising. The bulbous, bright-yellow prototype lacks a single straight edge.
Corbin is not planning on marketing the Sparrow to motorcycle riders, but is rather aiming it at car drivers who commute into crowded urban areas. "Most of the units that have been sold have gone to professionals who haven't ridden [motorcycles] before," said Mike Corbin. "Several have been purchased by doctors who have to commute to hospitals quickly," he said, adding that there are never any parking spaces near hospitals.
At $12,900, the Sparrow is the least expensive new electric vehicle on the market. GM's EV-1 leases for $480 per month, while Honda's EV Plus will lease for $499 a month.
Further, the State of California offers EV owners a $1,000-$3,500 yearly tax credit as an incentive to encourage purchase of electric vehicles, effectively lowering the Sparrow's price.
Corbin expects to build 400 Sparrows this year. The first 203 of those have already been sold.
