At that price tag I see it competing with used cars. If you are looking for cheap transportation you can get a used car in a decent condition for ~$2000. That would leave you with $4800 to spend on gas. According to the EIA the average household spends $3000 on gas per year. Dividing by two and assuming two cars and two daily commutes, the $4800 would only last for around three years.
So that means that it would take three years for somebody to break even and start saving cash on gas if you decide to go with the Elio instead of a used car.
So whether this concept will sell or not depends in part on whether the customers will view it as a long term investment or a short term fix until they are better off financially.
And I really don't buy their second commuter-only-car pitch. Somebody who can afford a new $20K vehicle can also afford the $700 (they claim $800 in gas per year) yearly penalty on gas, so the only people I see being attracted by this concept are people short on money which probably drive used cars.
If I had to guess I would say it's intending to fill the niche of the family's second car. Something for Dad to drive to work in while Mum drives the kids around in the main car. The person who's so poor that they can only afford a $2,000 car probably can't afford to make an investment that will take 3 years to pay off.
I bought a 1998 Kia Sephia for $1000, with 92k miles on it. Drove it for 2.5 years when the transmission started going out on it at 142k miles. Sold it for $450.
After that bought a 2001 Hyundai Accent for $1000, with 96k miles on it. Drove that thing until it had 136k at which point it started having some issues that would be expensive to fix. Sold that after owning it for 3.5 years for $900. I put about 4k into it, including oil changes, AC charges, and various other bits of maintenance (timing belt was expensive). I don't think I did too bad.
Both cars were bought in Phoenix, AZ, the Kia was sold there too, the Hyundai I sold in Denver, CO since I had moved there.
The Hyundai got fantastic gas mileage at about 30 Mpg with city/highway driving (about 50:50 mix). The Kia a little less at 28 mpg.
Both the Kia and the Hyundai were reliable for the time period that I had the car. Had I put some more time into the Hyundai it would probably have kept going without issues, I just was in the position with work and my finances to be able to go and purchase a car rather than continue putting money into a car.
I picked up a 1996 Honda Civic DX that needed a new clutch and master cylinder ($500 including labor) but was otherwise in great shape (maybe 1 year left on tires/brake pads) for $800.
Sure it had some irrelevant body flaws (bumper paint was flaking a bit and there were some dings on the panels, nothing larger than the size of a half-dollar) but for $1300 and 26-28mpg, not a bad deal at all!
Just scour Craigslist and local (physical) boards.
So that means that it would take three years for somebody to break even and start saving cash on gas if you decide to go with the Elio instead of a used car.
So whether this concept will sell or not depends in part on whether the customers will view it as a long term investment or a short term fix until they are better off financially.
And I really don't buy their second commuter-only-car pitch. Somebody who can afford a new $20K vehicle can also afford the $700 (they claim $800 in gas per year) yearly penalty on gas, so the only people I see being attracted by this concept are people short on money which probably drive used cars.
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=9831