Ideanomics, Arcimoto, Ayro, Worksport CEOs On The Election, EVs, Tesla

The incoming Biden administration should bring a "much stronger focus" on clean transportation and electrification, Arcimoto FUV CEO Mark Frohnmayer told the inaugural Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference. 

Having a cohesive strategy from the administration could make a big difference, he said.

“The federal government can do a lot.”

Frohnmayer joined a panel of leaders in the electric vehicle market who shared insights with Benzinga conference attendees. 

“[Biden] wants to spend $2 trillion to build out 500,000 charging stations,” said Rod Keller, CEO of Ayro Inc AYRO.

The United States is far behind Europe when it comes to charging stations, said Alf Poor, CEO of Ideanomics Inc IDEX.

Tariffs placed on items coming from China have hurt the electric vehicle companies, as the tariffs lead to higher costs.

China is the manufacturing base for everyone, Poor said. 

Electric Vehicle Market: The electric vehicle market could be driven by ride sharing and membership programs, said Steven Rossi, CEO of Worksport WKSP.

“There's lot of ground to be made on battery technology,” the CEO said.

Energy storage solutions need to develop rapidly as this is only the beginning, he said. 

Uber moves one or two people at most the majority of the time. Around 80% of ride share is one passenger, said Arcimoto's Frohnmayer. 

“That’s why we’ve been focused on the right size platform.”

Keller said he's excited about the size of the electric vehicle market, adding that it's larger now than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Food Delivery And EVs: Restaurants are paying 30% cuts to DoorDash DASH, and Uber Technologies UBER is exploring purchasing small delivery vehicles like the ones from Ayro and Arcimoto.

“We’re gonna talk to both sides,” Keller said of working with restaurants and food delivery companies.

Ayro has already had discussions with some of the largest quick service restaurant providers, he said. 

The food delivery vehicles could also be rolling billboards with logos for restaurants.

Keller said he does not believe that the end of the pandemic will slow down the growth of the food delivery business. 

Tesla's Impact: Tesla Inc TSLA is leading the electric vehicle story on a global basis, Frohnmayer said.  

“[We're on the] same mission [and] same team,” the CEO said, adding that Tesla is helping bring awareness to the entire electric vehicle market, which helps everybody. 

The ecosystem with end-to-end solutions that Tesla has created was praised by Poor and Keller.

What Tesla did was a highly risky strategy that paid off, Keller said, giving Apple Inc AAPL as another example. 

Keller is hoping that Tesla's construction of a Gigafactory in Texas could benefit Ayro.

“I have a selfish interest,” he said.

Ayro and Tesla use some of the same components, which Keller believes could lead to partnerships on warehouses and supply chains.

Click here for more from Benzinga on electric vehicles. 

Photo courtesy of Arcimoto.