Pre-Orders Soaring For Light EV Line With Flying Car

Orders have been pouring in for a new line of light electric vehicles that includes a three-wheeled car, covered and uncovered e-bikes and even a flying car. The numbers are all there on a special page that looks more like a scoreboard on the website for Daymak, the Canadian company that builds and sells the vehicles which generally weigh in at less than 500 pounds.

Since pre-orders opened in March for the six-vehicle Avvenire line, Daymak has taken in more than $320 million in orders, and counting. Most of the orders, about $297 million, are wholesale, with the remaining $25.8 million from individuals. That translates to 10,384 units.

Daymak founder and CEO Aldo Baiocchi partially attributes the rush of orders to individuals still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in Canada where restrictions are still tight.

“People have time to think, more time to go outdoors,” said Baiocchi in an interview. “Demand went through roof. Everybody’s going electric. It’s not a question of if, but when.”

The two biggest innovations for the Avvenire line that don’t include the flying car are how the vehicles’ batteries are charged. Baiocchi says the company has a patent pending on a wireless charger specially made for light electric vehicles that you simply park over. In addition, each vehicle contains a solar panel to provide a trickle charge that provides enough juice to power on-board electronics, extending the life of the battery “an extra couple of kilometers,” Baiocchi said.

The biggest seller so far is the three-wheeled, two-seat, street-ready Spiritus car with pre-orders of more than 4,000.

The Delux model has a top speed of about 85 miles per hour,going from zero to 60 in 6.9 seconds, and a range of 180 miles. The Ultimate model boosts performance to a top speed of 130 mph and 300 mile driving range rushing off line to 60 mph in just 1.8 seconds.

The rest of the Avvenire line includes:

• TERRA: an all-terrain e-bike with built-in solar panels, LED display, GPS, and speakers.
• FORAS: a fully-enclosed, recumbent e-bike fitted with solar panels, climate control, and an entertainment system. 
• TECTUS: an AWD, electric, fully-enclosed mobility scooter.
• ASPERO: a fully-enclosed, all-wheel-drive electric all-terrain vehicle with solar panels, climate controls, powerful motors, and an entertainment system.
• SKYRIDER: a high-performance electric flying vehicle.

The prices range from about $3,495 for an e-bike to $19,000 for a Deluxe Spiritus all the way up to $149,000 for the Ultimate Spiritus.

Don’t get ready to live out your George Jetson fantasy quite yet. While the flying Skyrider is available for pre-order no price has yet been set but you can reserve one with a 100 buck deposit. In fact, they haven’t been cleared for takeoff by any government, but Baiocchi doesn’t seem worried about the future for what he say is his “favorite product.”

“For sure that’s the future. It’s sooner than most people realize,” he said. “As the price of lithium batteries goes down and technology gets better governments will have no choice but to implement rules for all these flying vehicles.”

Some people don’t seem worried either. According to the online scoreboard as of this writing 649 have plunked down their $100 to reserve a Skyrider.

Baiocchi says he can’t wait to zip the 80 miles through the air to his weekend cottage aboard one.

Along with online reservations, Baiocchi says Daymak has distribution deals with the likes of retail giants like Walmart

WMT
and Costco and a 150 deal global network that’s mostly centered in North America but extends to Europe and Asia.

Pre-ordered vehicles are expected to be delivered next year, Baiocchi said with arrival of Skyrider dependent on government approvals and regulations.

Not bad for a business started in 2001 in Baiocchi’s garage. As he tells it he just wanted to buy his daughter an electric bike as a gift but there were no dealers in Canada. Looking for a new income stream after being hit hard in the dot-com bust, Baiocchi figured he’d start importing e-bikes from Europe, but that was illegal at the time in Canada and his stock was confiscated. Broke again.

By 2011 the laws changed and so did Baiocchi’s fate did too, eventually becoming the biggest distributor of light electric vehicles in Canada under the name Daymak. It’s an acronym where D is for Baiocchi’s daughter Daniella, A is for his first name Aldo, Y stands for Yetta, his wife, M is for his other daughter Melissa and the A and K he jokes, “I just made up.”

At the rate things are going Baiocchi says the goal is to reach $1 billion in Avvenire pre-orders by July. If that happens Daymak just may be making a new name for itself.