Aptera has raised $3m of its $20-50m crowdfund goal, offers new swag to investors
Aptera’s new community funding program is just two weeks in, but it has raised $3 million of it’s $20-50 million goal. To incentivize further investment, the company is now offering new pieces of Aptera-branded swag to lead investors.
Aptera announced the funding milestone today, though it wasn’t really a secret, as it has had a constantly-updated investment leaderboard ever since its January 27 crowdfunding announcement.
In that announcement, Aptera indicated that it wanted to raise $20 to $50 million by the end of March. Aptera is hoping to attract 2,000 investors at $10,000 or more each, which would put it into this fundraising range.
So far, Aptera has raised $3.10 million from 257 investors, according to the leaderboard at press time.
So, if we assume that investments start fast and trail off, or that the rate of investment is relatively stable over the investment period, it looks like Aptera might be running a bit behind schedule, about a quarter of the way into its two-month investment period.
As a result, Aptera has offered a few new perks to investors, perhaps to speed things up a bit.
In addition to the previous perks of a 5% discount on an Aptera and waiving the $100 reservation fee (which anyone can save $30 on by using our link) for any investor over $10,000, Aptera has promised that everyone who invests over $10k between Jan 27 and March 26 will get a serialized, limited-edition hardcover book about the Aptera production and design process.
Beyond this tier, any investor over $15k in that timeframe will get a “branded Aptera adventure bag,” and investors over $25k will get the bag and a “branded Aptera Accelerator jacket.”
The 2,000 investors will gain access to the first 2,000 Launch Edition Aptera vehicles, roughly in order of their positions on the leaderboard. The #1 investor will get Aptera #1 – currently, that position goes to an investor from Maryland who goes by the initials R.P. They have invested $10,500 since Jan 27, but over $1 million since Aptera originally started taking investments.
Those Launch Edition cars will start at $33,200, with a configuration including the upgraded 400-mile battery, all available solar panels, and all-wheel drive system. Though that price is conspicuously labeled as “subject to change.”
Finally, Aptera promised additional swag incentives in the future, stating that it will add “more items and experiences to the list” as more investments roll in. It also alluded to a special prize for the top 10 investors but said we’ll “have to wait and find out.”
If you’d like to invest in Aptera, you can find more at their Investment Accelerator Program site.
Electrek’s Take
There’s a lot of discussion in the Electrek newsroom any time Aptera comes up. For longtime EV fans, Aptera has quite a history – it tried and failed to bring a car to market once before, though this second attempt seems more realistic than the first did.
The car does have a cool and different design and incredible efficiency. It perhaps could even deliver the promise of being able to drive and charge fully on solar power for low-mileage individuals or people living in very sunny places. This could make it easier for people who don’t have access to their own parking spot to stay charged up from day to day, for example. And while solar is usually more effective on the roofs of buildings or in other stationary applications, solar cars have been a dream for a long time.
It’s also somewhat reasonably priced, with a $25,900 base price (for the non-Launch Edition) – though that’s “subject to change,” as it’s the same price that Aptera originally announced in 2020, and most cars have gone up in price since then.
But one car that hasn’t gone up in price is the Chevy Bolt, which is a screaming deal right now at a base price of $26,500. That’s barely more than an Aptera, but you get a “real car” for that price. Of course, the people looking at an Aptera are probably the type of people who want something different anyway, so perhaps a “real car” isn’t what they want. But that pricing differential doesn’t seem to work in Aptera’s favor, especially when the Bolt will qualify for the federal EV tax credit, whereas the Aptera, as a three-wheeled vehicle, will not.
But then again, nothing can compete with the Bolt on price/performance right now, and it’s nearing the end of its product life. We’ll have to see what GM has in store with the Equinox, which is supposed to replace the Bolt at a somewhat similar price range, and see how the rest of the market develops in the next year or more before the Aptera hits the road.
So, while we remain optimistic that Aptera can make it, we also recognize it’s got a long way to go in a tough environment for startups as funding has dried up across the economy in recent months. As a result, solar EV startups have been having a rough time lately, with Lightyear recently declaring bankruptcy, and Sono running its own crowdfunding campaign. And another three-wheeled EV-maker, Arcimoto, is also in trouble.
So Aptera has its work cut out for it, but maybe offering a few more incentives will nudge some more investors into action.
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Chevy is resurrecting both the Spark and EUV nameplates with the all-new, affordable Chevy Spark EUV. GM hopes its new, 249-mile range EV will be a “game changer” that helps accelerate the company’s EV transition in export markets.
There’s an old saying that goes, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” And to that end it seems that GM’s Chevy brand has figured out a way to put China’s electric technology lead to work in their favor, rebadging the Baojun Yep Plus SUV built by the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture.
Meet the all-new 2026 Chevy Spark EUV – a compact, Bronco-lookin’ four-door crossover that’s ready to take South America, Africa, and the Middle East by storm.
Big style, tiny package
Like its Baojun-badged siblings, the new MY2026 Chevrolet Spark EUV is powered by a single 75 kW (101 hp), 180 Nm (130 lb-ft) motor driving the front wheels. Power comes from the Baojun’s 42 kWh LFP battery that, with regenerative braking, is good for up to 360 km (220 miles) on the NEDC driving cycle.
The new Spark is also equipped with a 10.1″ infotainment screen and 8.8″ digital instrument cluster. Interestingly, the Spark EUV ships with support for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard – two technologies that GM claim lead to “unsafe” driver in North America.
Built to turn heads and spark excitement, the 2026 Chevrolet Spark EUV debuts in the ACTIV trim, boasting a bold, boxy exterior, a sleek two-tone roof, and sporty 16” wheels. Compact yet spacious, it’s the perfect everyday runner, offering seamless balance of practicality, driving dynamics and personality.
And for those who love to stand out, the Spark EUV offers six vibrant color options, including Sea Blue with a Polar White roof, Track Yellow, Tiger Blue, Gentle Gray with a Star Twinkle Black roof, and Milky Tea. But personalization doesn’t stop there – drivers can further customize their Spark EUV with exclusive accessories like Ground Effects for the front and rear, Side Moldings, Assist Steps, and Side and Rear Storage Boxes.
Whether you’re an adventurer, gaming enthusiast, music lover, sports fan or someone who enjoys pop culture, a range of unique accessories and themes ensures your Spark EUV stands out and feels uniquely yours.
“The Chevrolet Spark EUV is the coolest and most attainable vehicle in its segment – and is positioned to drive EV adoption in the Middle East,” explains Jack Uppal, General Motors Africa and Middle East President and Managing Director. “Not only is it fun to drive, but the Chevrolet Spark EUV also offers customers the chance to personalize their vehicle with a variety of customization options, making it uniquely their own.”
In addition to basically re-using R&D and tooling budgets from the Baojun brand, the 2026 Chevy Spark EUV keeps its price low with relatively low EV tech. The charging, for example, tops out at “just” 50 kW – a far cry from the 300-plus kW from Tesla, let alone the 480 kW from some of the cutting-edge Chinese brands.
The 2026 Chevrolet Spark EUV will be available in UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Iraq, Oman, and Egypt later this Summer. No official word on pricing.
Electrek’s Take
I know this is an overseas model with almost no chance of coming to the US – and that’s our loss. A practical, fun, affordable EV like this could do huge numbers if it was priced right. And with the Baojun Yep starting at less than $12,000 US in China, I can’t imagine a sub-20K MSRP would be entirely out of the question.
SOURCE | IMAGES: GM.
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The 2025 US Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study from J.D. Power tells us that more people are more satisfied with their EV experience than last year – and the EV owners who are the most satisfied with their rides can be found behind the wheel of the BMW iX.
Now in its fifth year, the J.D. Power U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study focuses on the the first year of vehicle ownership. The overall EVX ownership index is a 1000-point score that measures EV owner satisfaction in both premium and mass market segments across 10 factors. Those being (in alphabetical order):
- accuracy of stated battery range
- availability of public charging stations
- battery range
- cost of ownership
- driving enjoyment
- ease of charging at home
- interior and exterior styling
- safety and technology features
- service experience
- vehicle quality and reliability
And, for the second year in a row, a BMW has taken the top two spots in J.D. Power’s survey, slotting just ahead of the Rivian R1T and R1S models (the leaders in 2023). In the mass-market BEV segment, BMW’s MINI sub-brand also performed well.
The reason BMW is consistently pulling ahead? It seems to come down to education. “First-time EV buyers are receiving minimal education or training,” explains Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power. “Dealer and manufacturer representatives play the crucial role of front-line educators, but when it comes to EVs, the specific education needed to shorten the learning curve just isn’t happening often enough. The shortfall in buyer education is something we’re seeing with all brands.”
For their part, BMW and MINI do a great job with consumer education – and the company’s Genius program (cunning cribbed from Apple’s Genius Bar playbook) is the best in the car business. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine this going down any other way.
Bigger trends in the EV space
After a decline in BEV owners’ overall satisfaction results in 2024, J.D. Power reports that owners of both premium and mass market battery electric EVs are expressing a change of sentiment this year. Part of that is better education, another part is more mainstream awareness of EV charging basics, but most of that is the overall growth and improvement of America’s publicly accessible DC fast charging network.
Among mass market BEV owners, satisfaction is up 86 points year over year (396) as infrastructure buildout continues and brands benefit from the opening of the Tesla Supercharger network. Satisfaction with public charger availability is highest among owners of premium BEVs (551).
These results should come as no surprise to Electrek readers and Quick Charge listeners. We covered a Paren study late last year that showed a nearly 50% increase in DC fast charging sessions YOY over Thanksgiving weekend. In that study, the company’s proprietary EV charger reliability index was up 3.4% compared to last year, reaching 85.5% and signaling an improving charging experience overall for EV drivers.
Another big EV trend covered in J.D. Power’s survey is the market’s permanence. EVs have staying power, in other words, with the vast, sweeping majority of first-time EV buyers indicating that they’re not going back to ICE.
verall, 94% of BEV owners are likely to consider purchasing another BEV for their next vehicle, a rate that is also matched by first-time buyers. Manufacturers should take note of the strong consumer commitment to EVs as the high rate of repurchase intent offers the ability to generate brand loyal customers if the experience is a positive one. In fact, during the past several years, the BEV repurchase intent percentage has fluctuated very little, ranging between 94-97%. This year’s study also finds that only 12% of BEV owners are likely to consider replacing their EV with an internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicle during their next purchase.
“With five years of conducting this study and surveying thousands of EV owners, it’s apparent that once consumers enter the EV fold, they’re highly likely to remain committed to the technology,” Gruber adds.
J.D. Power reports that BEVs reached a market share of 9.1% in 2024, up from 8.4% in 2023. That’s in line with Cox Automotive’s numbers, which led that company to predict that 1 of every 4 new cars sold in the US (cleverly sidestepping the truck segment) would be battery-powered in 2025.
You can check out the results of the J.D. Power surveys, below, then let us know what you think of these results in the comments.
EVs with most satisfied owners
SOURCE | IMAGES: J.D. Power; BMW.
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Dutch charge point operators Fastned have opened their first DC fast-charging station with up to 400 kW chargers in Italy, marking the eighth nation the company has built stations in.
Fastned’s new EV charging location was built into the existing Truck Park Brescia Est service plaxa on the busy A4 motorway roughly between Milan and Venice. The A4 is a major traffic artery in the northern part of Italy, but that’s not the only reason the site was chosen.
Fastned says that the majority of electric vehicles registered in the boot-shaped nation are located in the northernmost regions of the country of the country. More specifically, the new charging facility is located roughly halfway between Bergamo and Verona, while the A4 continues west to Lake Lugano and Lake Como or and east to Lago di Garda.
The facility offers four Alpitronic-built HYC400 Hyperchargers, DC fast charging stations with a massive, 400 kW output – quite a bit more than what even the newest Tesla EVs can make use of, but still significantly slower than either the megawatt charging some battery electric semi trucks or the latest 6C luxury cars from China can make use of.
The new Fastned charge park was originally set to open in 2024, but wasn’t officially commissioned by the Italian motorway operator A4 Holding Group until this week.
Electrek’s Take
You might be asking yourself why I’m writing about a new charging station in Europe when I usually write about big trucks and tractors. The answer is simple: I read “Truck Park Brescia Est” and assumed this was a truck stop. By the time I figured it out I’d already written about three quarters of the article, and rather than throw it away I decided to use it as yet another opportunity to point out that Tesla is a step or three behind the latest charging tech from China.
I also re-posted an episode of Quick Charge on this same topic (above). Enjoy!
SOURCE | IMAGES: Fastned, via Electrive.
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