International Aptera Info

[christiaan]

Is there any point in preordering if I live in Europe or better off just waiting until something is announced for Europe?

[OZ.]

If you can afford to tie up the reservation fee, it puts you in line, and it will probably be a couple of years, but you’d be closer to the front of the line if you do that now. Reservation is fully refundable for whatever reason, so if you decide it’s not for you, or it takes too long, or anything, you haven’t really lost anything.

[jesthorbjorn]

A reservation is vote of real, money backed interest in the vehicle in your region. That will help them prioritize where to pursue homologation next.

[david-jones]

Reservations help build investor confidence. And the reservation fee is fully refundable. It’s good for all of us if you reserve ASAP. And that $100 makes it feels like you’re part of the movement. All the good feels. Ignore charger nonsense. A $50 USD adapter fixes the whole thing. People are worried about a non-issue. They’ll prob never have to charge it anyways. Reserve today. 🙂

[philipp-bueker]

Hi there. Is it possible to say how and when the Aptera will be available in Germany? Will it be the same that is planed for US with the „normal“ Modifications that are needed for EU (lights, Wheels, Tyres, etc.) I hope it does not need special Treatment and additional Modifications for the German federal Motor Transport Authority, NCAP and so on.

[ROMAD]

Philipp, what would be different regarding the wheels & tires? I’m guessing 3-wheel autocycles and motorcycles are also subject to TÜV inspections, so that organization may be able to tell you the requirements.

[philipp-bueker]

Some Tyres and especially Wheels from US are mostly not allowed for use in Germany. That is in Fakt not a Problem since it does not require special Modifications other than just swap them.The Problem that I want to speak of is that the German federal Motor Transport Authority must give Certification/Admission for the use of the Aptera. This has not happen yet and If there will be Issues regarding that Admission it would lead to an Individual Admission Case for every single Aptera in Germany which Is highly Troublesome and does not have any Guarantee for success at all.

That Is my main Concern so any kind of Input would be a good one like:

– How far is the homoligation Process for Germany?

– Are there extra Costs involved?

– If Yes, How much?

– Will the Specs stay as announced?

The Aptera Project caught me and won‘t let me go. In my Opinion It‘s the most interesting Car Project now. It would be a real loss if that Car would not come to Germany because of our extrem homologation Process…

[Markus]

Hi Philipp, Aptera’s CEO Chris Anthony has stated in several occasions that they are working towards complying with EU regulations respectively to see how exemptions could be obtained. So, no tinkering should be required.

Availabilty outside the USA is scheduled for 2024, but you better pre-order now or you might have to wait even longer.

[vernon-sinnott]

When may Canadians expect the first deliveries to Canada, and how is Aptera working with both provincial & federal governments in Canada on this?

[993cc]

In the past they have spoken about “international deliveries” beginning in 2024, but I wouldn’t put money on that. They need to get the vehicle certified by Transport Canada, work out a distribution and service support system covering a small number of vehicles within Canada’s vastness, and try to solve the various provinces’ problematic treatment of autocycles with regard to helmet and Motorcycle license requirements.

If they use the Tesla plug, they will also have to establish consistent availability of a Tesla to CSS adapter due to the poor coverage of Tesla chargers in the non-central areas.

[humphrey]

Greetings all,

Just squeezed the trigger on my pre-order (400 mile, AWD, complete solar coverage, Noir & Vida + sound & pet upgrades). I have concerns about homologation in UK & EU; it’s a tad too wide at 2.2m, unknown vehicle category (No autocycle in the UK), crash testing, front number plate etc, but I’m hearted to learn that Aptera have a team looking into all of this.

All that said, I’m very much looking forward to look on my fellow Brits faces when they see this rolling down the road!

[abinitio1980]

Hey 👋 fellow UK reservationist 😎

I don’t think the “autocycle” category is an issue – it falls into category L5e(?)

My worries are width and length that may take some lobbying to resolve (as well as being slightly too wide for current category classification, it is also too long AFAIK)

I am “slightly” disappointed that as a company with stated global ambitions for the model some parts / decisions seem short-sighted (all the effort around Tesla connector for example – it’s a parochial issue) with a lack of international consideration – FWIW, I think Tesla have made same mistake with cybertuck.

[abinitio1980]

This may be useful re: UK/EU classification

https://www.mcia.co.uk/downloads/download/401

Length of <4m and width <2m may be an issue – although I’m not sure if “common classification criteria” is a way of saying “vehicles that meet criteria are automatically accepted, others will require individual assessment”

[humphrey]

Hi,

Thanks for forwarding the Cat L5e details. As you say, the potential dimensions issue may be subject of an exception rather than a straight no. I suspect the NCAP scores might affect approval (A good score might seal the deal?).

I agree re the Cybertruck, though commercially Tesla don’t give a fig about anywhere else other than North America as they can sell all they can make there for decades!! I cancelled my CT pre-order in favour of a Model Y (Company car) to go with our Model 3. My use case for the Aptera is as a fun, funky, guilt-free car I can use for work (I run a EV charging company) & play (road trips across EU).

Let’s hope the rules have enough ‘flex’ in them to allow these wonderful cars by exception!

[vernon-sinnott]

I just received this response from the Province of Alberta, Canada. I wrote twice requesting a change of designation to include autocycle.

Dear Vernon Sinnott:

Thank you for your August 18, 2022 email regarding autocycles in Alberta.

According to the Traffic Safety Act, all vehicles that are 3-wheeled are considered motorcycles in Alberta. As autocycles are 3-wheeled vehicles, they are considered motorcycles. In Alberta, an autocycle may be used for a Class 6 road test. If successful, a condition code B would be applied to the licence, which restricts the Class 6 driver’s licence to 3‑wheeled motorcycles only.

In Alberta, the holder of a Class 5 licence may not drive a motorcycle, nor can a 3-wheeled vehicle be used for a Class 5 road test. All other Canadian jurisdictions also view 3-wheeled vehicles as motorcycles, and do not permit them to be driven with a Class 5 licence.

In Alberta, all drivers and passengers of a motorcycle must wear a helmet. As autocycles are considered motorcycles, drivers and passengers are required to wear a helmet. The only exception is for a driver or passenger who is 18 years or older and is a bona fide member of the Sikh religion and wears a turban.

Regardless of this exemption, the Government of Alberta continues to encourage all Albertans, including Sikhs, to wear helmets when riding motorcycles and educate all motorcyclists on other safe practices they can use to reduce their risk of injury. For more information on Alberta’s exemption, please visit http://www.alberta.ca/helmet-<wbr>exemption-sikh.aspx.

Your suggestions will be taken into consideration in future reviews of our regulations and supporting legislation. For your records, you may want to review Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act as well as our Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation:

· Traffic Safety Act (see the definition of motorcycle): https://www.qp.alberta.ca/<wbr>1266.cfm?page=t06.cfm&leg_<wbr>type=Acts&isbncln=<wbr>9780779826957&display=html

· Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation: https://www.qp.alberta.ca/<wbr>1266.cfm?page=2002_320.cfm&<wbr>leg_type=Regs&isbncln=<wbr>9780779825943&display=html

Should you have further questions regarding autocycles in Alberta, please contact Mr. Chris Yanitski, Vehicle Standards Engineer with Alberta Transportation. Mr. Yanitski can be reached toll-free in Alberta at 310-0000, then 780-422-0812 or at chris.yanitski@gov.ab.ca.

Should you have further questions regarding driver’s licence classifications, please contact Sherry Danyluk, Driver Examination Manager. Ms. Danyluk can be reached toll-free in Alberta at 310-0000, then 780-427-6776 or at sherry.danyluk@gov.ab.ca.

Sincerely,

Prasad Panda

Minister of Transportation

[curtis-cibinel]

“All other Canadian jurisdictions also view 3-wheeled vehicles as motorcycles, and do not permit them to be driven with a Class 5 licence.”

Quite sure this statement is incorrect based on everything I have researched. A requirement for a motorcycle license or helmet basically kills aptera viability a given area. I see a polaris slingshot about once per week in kelowna BC and have never seen a helmet used (although I could see a safety argument since it isn’t covered)
ICBC (our mandatory government insurance company for BC that everyone hates) is quite clear that class 5 covers 3 wheelers (no word on helmets): https://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/types-licences/Pages/Licence-classes-and-types.aspx

Canada: https://slingshot.polaris.com/en-ca/license-requirements/

FYI USA: https://slingshot.polaris.com/en-us/license-requirements/

I swear I found something on helmet requirements in another thread. Here is an article but all it says about helmets is “some juristictions”… https://electricautonomy.ca/2021/05/10/electric-three-wheeled-vehicles/

[emmanuel-euh]

Bonjour From France, so Aptera will sell cars in europe 1 or 2 years after the first car will be sold in the us, time to get rid of the back log, then put energy on the EU regulation malarkey i guess ?

i’m a TM3 owner mainly to commute 100 km (62m) a day, switching to aptera would save money thanks to free distance and low drag.

[robert-luitjes]

I am very enthusiastic about the Aptera. Would love to drive it over here.
Expect that the some of the following matters will be more clear at the event in March at Amsterdam. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the Aptera crew won’t focus on Europa just yet.
I am a new member. As far as I’m concerned, it could be a success in Europe. I’ve included a few points below that stood out to me.

Ground clearance

There are lots of (speed)bumps over here.
The ground clearance without the off-road option seems/is not enough for the Netherlands.
I do not need/want the tougher wheel covers.

Licence plates (front and back)

In the Netherlands I believe only a back license plate is required (hope so).
If not the airflow in the front will re ruined.
The back plate may result in a disrupted airflow (height) and problems with the width.

Width (official 88 inch)

Home garage doors are often around 90 inch wide so parking indoors will be difficult.
Also there are a lot (older) narrow parking spaces.
Recently in a Youtube video someone measured the width and there it seems 86 inches

Safety Pilot

Difficult to decide on this package based on current information.

There are roads here with lanes for bicycles that are essentially shared with cars.

It would be great if

– lane keep can (easily) be turned off manually when driving roads like that.
If lane keep can’t be turned off steering corrections would make it hard to drive down these roads without it getting dangerous or at least get very annoyed.
– in addition to adaptive cruise control, normal cruise control could be used.
(in very busy roads adaptive cruise control is not always the best option and regular CC is best)

Tall people

In Europa (the Netherlands) people are tall. The average height for males is over 6 feet.
This issue is resolved in the newer version of the Aptera.

Color

The black color is beautiful. Personally, I’m afraid that someone will crash into the wheelcover in the parking lot.

Spare parts

How to get replacement parts for the Aptera in Europe.
This is of course much too early at the moment but also one of the important points

Flat rear tire

I hope roadside assistance can help me with a flat tire

[ricardo-areco]

I live in Germany, 5 years ago my neighbor told me Tesla would go bankrupt in a year.

2 years later Tesla was on the brink of buying out Mercedes. Since then, the German Auto Industry has been running behind Tesla, investing trillions in electric cars.

Now they are there, but the whole of Europe is lagging badly on charging points.

Affordable cars like Renault Zoe, or small Fiat, cost as much as the Aptera. Middle-class people in the city would love to buy them, but charging on the streets? Brutally expensive, and you could be waiting for hours for a space.

Germany had last year, a record of sunshine hours (yes Germany), meaning for the average commuter around the city, with the Aptera mileage and sunshine recharge, it is the deal of the century.

Aptera buckle-up! Wonder if you are aware that you could be a real game changer like Tesla was and if you are ready for it.

By the time you hit Europe, you will need to speed up production 100-fold!

Mark my words. All the south of Europe will be ordering, Spain has hardly any charging points, but enough sunshine to cover the whole EU needs. Just the fuel savings would easily pay for the leasing monthly payments.

All the best.

Ricardo.

[ab-reitsma]

I read somewhere that the Aptera in the EU would most likely be classified as an L5e type motorcycle so I browsed the web searching for information about this. I ended up with the following page:

EUR-Lex – 02013R0168-20201114 – EN – EUR-Lex (europa.eu)

The Aptera would fit in category L5e if its dimensions would be length =< 4 m and width =< 2 m and mass =< 1000 kg (search inside the page for ‘list of annexes’). Aptera could fit the mass, but definitely not the length and width. I also do not see them reduce the efficiency to try to meet these rather arbitrary dimensions.

However there exist a chapter ix (search inside the page for ‘chapter ix’) which is titled ‘exemptions for new technologies or new concepts’. I think that this perfectly describes the Aptera. They need to describe why the vehicle is incompatible with one or more elements of the existing regulations. This should be simple: the extreme low drag dictates a vehicle that has the dimensions it has. Maybe they could also increase the maximum mass for the Aptera for the 1000 mile version (batteries are heavy).

I know Aptera Motors hired someone for EU homologation who probably knows a lot better what the options are. I feel a lot more certain that Aptera will make it to Europe, what do you think?

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Ab Reitsma.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Gabriel Kemeny.

[abinitio1980]

The weight limit in the regs specifically exclude the weight of the traction batteries (and a few other things) so, AFAICS, 1000 mile version is fine anyway.

[gerardo-campos]

I hope Aptera don´t forget about the South…. here in Chile we have a lot of Sun ….

[curtis-cibinel]

International deliveries are stated to start in 2024. They have not clarified the difference between countries but I think its obvious proximity, number of orders, regulations and scope of localization changes will all be relevant to Aptera actually delivering in them. Obviously RHD or other complex localizations might push that back a bit. Canada loves EVs (except Alberta), has similar regulations and since 90% of Canadians are within 100 miles of the border its as easy as it gets.

[franois-xavier-abrial]

Hi Aptera team,

Very simple the official definition of M vehicle in UNECE is :

“Vehicles having at least four wheels and used for the carriage of passengers (e.g., standard car with 2, 3, 4 doors).”

=> regulation does not require to set the 4 wheels at each corner!

Then if Aptera add a fourth little wheel (purely for classification purpose) behind (or just in front depending on aero impact) the rear wheel to disturb the less possible the aero profile in that area then we go for M1 having a max width<2.55m

Cherry on the cake => no more : Helmet, special licence or front light bike regulation etc.. 🙂

Keeping finger crossed to get an Aptera as close as possible from the original model in Europe! If the right overall weight distribution & width design has been solved we should stick to it.

Best regards,

FX

[michael-block]

Hi Aptera

Has there been any decision made on charge ports for cars sold outside the US/Canada market? CCS requires a large port and so will require additional engineering, Will J1772 ports be supplied with EU and Australian/NZ cars? These are larger, but only a little larger, and far preferable to having to use an adapter every single time the car is charged

[david-briscoe]

I’m just wondering how many people in the UK have reserved/Placed an order for an Aptera? If I knew I wouldn’t be the only one, I’d feel a little less uneasy. I’m thinking about a 600-mile range AWD version when it becomes available. If I was to reserve one now, could I switch to the 600-mile version later?. I don’t mind waiting until around 2027 as it gives me PLENTY of time to save up. Also, is anyone in the UK able to invest in Aptera at all? In the meantime, I will follow this forum and Aptera’s developments with interest. Thanks.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by  David Briscoe. Reason: Grammatical errors
• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by  Gabriel Kemeny.

[Mike-Mars]

With current energy costs I am sure there are lots of us

[humphrey]

One here!

I converted my original reservation to Launch Edition when Aptera reversed it’s decision not to include DC rapid charging. That said we are unlikely to see the car in the UK for 3/4 years given the homologation hoops they will have to jump through. I don’t see them redesigning the car (at least in the medium term) to suit the EU/Oz/UK market, rather I think they’ll probably pass the L5e rules. My concern is more practical, namely the rear number plate. My e-moped plate looks too large to fit the plate carrier without covering the reversing camera/rear vent etc. It will be interesting see a US plate fitted to the car to see how it looks.

[OZ.]

Many reservations have been heard in these forums from the UK, there may also be some Facebook groups that are specialized in that. (Or you might start one yourself, there are some fairly large groups on Aptera folk there already.)

You can reserve anything you want, and an modify the reservation right up until they ask for a build deposit. (That would likely fall fairly close to your timeline, or probably at least 2-3 years from now.)

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by  OZ (It's OZ, Just OZ).
• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by  Gabriel Kemeny.