Uniti Electric Car - Crowdfunding

54and56

Hi guys,

I'm looking at replacing an old VW Polo which acts as the family 2nd car and sirens 95% of its time pottering around Sandyford/Stillorgan/Blackrock etc.

This https://www.uniti.earth caught my eye as potentially a good long term investment.

Any thoughts?

Shefwedfan

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Hi guys,

I'm looking at replacing an old VW Polo which acts as the family 2nd car and sirens 95% of its time pottering around Sandyford/Stillorgan/Blackrock etc.

This https://www.uniti.earth caught my eye as potentially a good long term investment.

Any thoughts?

Its all over facebook today, everyone I know seen it pop up as advertisement, they are trying to say they are the new Tesla

I seen a couple of companies like this pop up

I wonder do they have any links to Saab, I know the company that took over Saab wanted to develop electric cars but never got off the ground the last update I seen

When are you talking of replacing the car? I didnt see when the car would be availble

ted1

In what way do you think it’s a good investment?

unkel

Looks cool, but €20k? LOL, I don't think so.

Shefwedfan

They are selling off the Leaf for 20k, you would be better investing your money in that

n97 mini

There have been a few EV start-ups that have come and gone. If I were a betting man I'd say this will end up the same.

54and56

ted1 wrote: »

In what way do you think it’s a good investment?

Two ways really:

1. Not mental expensive to buy.
2. Inexpensive to run.

54and56

Shefwedfan wrote: »

They are selling off the Leaf for 20k, you would be better investing your money in that

You might be right there. The Uniti has lofty aspirations but these are rarely well executed in the first version of any new product so the best option may well be to stick to a traditional brand.

oppenheimer1

Is steer by wire permitted in Europe? I have a feeling a mechanical linkage to the wheels is required - it was in the past but maybe its changed.

goz83

It would/should be less than 20k here with the exemption and grant, but even if that car was 10k, I wouldn't be in a hurry to buy it. It looks like a fiat 500 was melted.

ted1

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

In what way do you think it’s a good investment?

Two ways really:

1. Not mental expensive to buy.
2. Inexpensive to run.

Same traits as a bike.

It’s a startup with no experience building cars. It can’t achieve funding through regular means. The R and D required to bring a car to market is in the billion euro region

Just cause it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s a good investment.

If you want something cheap that’s inexpensive to run then buy a 2002 Ford Focus

Dardania

ted1 wrote: »

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

In what way do you think it’s a good investment?

Two ways really:

1. Not mental expensive to buy.
2. Inexpensive to run.

Same traits as a bike.  

It’s a startup with no experience building cars. It can’t achieve funding through regular means. The R and D required to bring a car to market is in the billion euro region

Just cause it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s a good investment.

If you want something cheap that’s inexpensive to run then buy a 2002 Ford Focus

I'm growing more and more sceptical of this "crowd-funding" idea...if these companies had any prospects, they'd simply IPO on a normal stock exchange or go to the normal bond market...

54and56

Dardania wrote: »

I'm growing more and more sceptical of this "crowd-funding" idea...if these companies had any prospects, they'd simply IPO on a normal stock exchange or go to the normal bond market...

Why? Startups rarely IPO before they've been through the FF&F/Seed + VC rounds of funding and have launched a product/service which is at least beginning to generate revenue and I don't think the bond market is a viable option for a pre revenue company.

Crowdfunding has it's place in the finance hierarchy, usually somewhere between the FF&F/Seed and VC stages. It allows young companies to raise funding at a low cost without diluting their equity and in addition it serves as a very effective marketing tool and to build an active/early adaptor customer base.

Why give away equity or strangle your young company with debt if there are individual's willing to provide a portion of your required funding in exchange for early access to the launch product (and effectively act as willing beta testers) and/or discounts?

Dardania

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Dardania wrote: »

I'm growing more and more sceptical of this "crowd-funding" idea...if these companies had any prospects, they'd simply IPO on a normal stock exchange or go to the normal bond market...

Why?  Startups rarely IPO before they've been through the FF&F/Seed + VC rounds of funding and have launched a product/service which is at least beginning to generate revenue and I don't think the bond market is a viable option for a pre revenue company.

Crowdfunding has it's place in the finance hierarchy, usually somewhere between the FF&F/Seed and VC stages.  It allows young companies to raise funding at a low cost without diluting their equity and in addition it serves as a very effective marketing tool and to build an active/early adaptor customer base.

Why give away equity or strangle your young company with debt if there are individual's willing to provide a portion of your required funding in exchange for early access to the launch product (and effectively act as willing beta testers) and/or discounts?

I think the reluctance to IPO is possibly related to the "bureaucracy" / scrutiny rather than an aversion to equity dilution - see this article: https://www.ft.com/content/62f68902-989e-11e7-b83c-9588e51488a0

Although to your second point (bolded) and the point about marketing - fair point, as long as people get something of value in return (e.g. early access to services or discounts...) - but when it's a straight up crowdfund for equity, it seems odd to me...