The knock on the first generation of electric cars was that too many of them looked like, well, this.
Then Tesla came along and rewrote the book.
Now Morgan Motors, storied British maker of some of the classiest roadsters your money can buy, has announced its whole fleet will be hybrid or electric by 2019.
The iconic automaker — which announced at the Geneva Motor Show last month it’d be offering a zero-emission version of its three-wheel EV3 — has received about $8.6 million in funding from the U.K.’s Advanced Propulsion Center to start producing the range of eco-friendly models, and plans to expand its workforce in order to meet the anticipated high demand.
The company is working on new drivetrains for the steel, wood and aluminum frames of each of its models, and, because the low-emission vehicles should be welcomed into more markets, Morgan anticipates dropping its prices and doubling its annual production within 10 years.
“This is a very exciting project for us,” says Morgan managing director Steve Morris. “We are now ready to develop the best hybrid and electric drivetrain solutions for production implementation before the end of the decade.”
While new Morgan vehicles aren’t readily available in the U.S. right now, Uncle Sam’s recently passed FAST Act — the same bill that brought DeLoreans back to the, er, present — should theoretically make it much easier for both three- and four-wheeled electric Moggies to make it stateside in the future.
Our tweed caps are doffed.
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