For the second time, the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission has postponed a hearing to discuss possible licensing violations by Elio Motors, an auto startup that’s struggled for years to get production of its three-wheel vehicle, The Elio, up and running at the former General Motors plant in Shreveport.
KSLA-TV reports the delay was announced just 24 hours before the hearing was to occur at 10 a.m. this morning.
LMVC Assistant Executive Director Ingya Cattle confirmed the hearing would be continued to Monday, July 10, but she did not say why the hearing was postponed.
The commission is seeking to discuss Elio Motors’ practice of accepting “binding reservations” to hold customers’ place in line for its three-wheel vehicle. The commission is concerned that a binding reservation is the same thing as a pre-sale, and Elio Motors is not licensed to sell vehicles in Louisiana.
The state’s franchise law prohibits manufacturers from selling directly to customers. Instead, they are required to sell through dealers. Elio Motors could be fined thousands of dollars if the company is found to have violated state law.
The auto startup has never been able to fully raise the capital needed to begin production of at the former GM plant which the Caddo Parish Commission bankrolled to the tune of $7.5 million for the project. The startup had promised to bring 1,500 jobs to northwest Louisiana.
The hearing’s postponement comes just one week after the company’s latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed that Elio Motors may be unable to survive another year without additional loans and stock offerings. Elio Motors needs to raise $376 million to fund production, the documents say.
