Meet Mark Frohnmayer | Founder and CEO of Arcimoto

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark Frohnmayer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Based in Eugene, Oregon, Arcimoto designs and manufactures three-wheeled electric vehicles for everyday use for everyday people. We believe that by right-sizing, electrifying, and better utilizing our rides, we can reclaim our urban space, clean our air, and make our cities more livable for everyone.

At the core of all of our vehicle products is a flexible and scalable platform that we can optimize for many uses: daily driving, destination rentals and tours, last-mile delivery, emergency response, general fleet utility, and just plain joyful driving.

What should our readers know about your business?
Arcimoto was founded in 2007 and in September 2017 the company went public on Nasdaq (FUV) in order to transform from a development stage venture into a manufacturing enterprise. On September 19, 2019, the dream became reality with the production release of the first Arcimoto FUV, from there it has been a non-stop adventure with ups and downs and many successes along the way.

Over the years, Arcimoto has produced a stellar line up of three wheeled vehicles for various uses in an effort to right size sustainable transportation. We recently opened our new mass production facility and unveiled Arcimoto’s latest development effort, the Mean Lean Machine.

Our mission is to catalyze the shift to a sustainable transportation system. We believe that will only happen when we move away from oversized, overpriced, polluting vehicles to right-sized, ultra-efficient EVs we all can afford.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We have to give a shoutout to our friends at Go Car Tours in San Diego. I would recommend renting a FUV, driving over the stunning Coronado Bridge, visiting the beautiful Coronado Beach to dip your toes in the Pacific, and stopping at the historic Hotel Del Coronado for some delicious tacos: the mushroom vegan tacos are especially delicious (and sustainable). After that, FUV on over to PETCO Park to catch the Padres, then finish the night with a cauliflower steak at Cafe Gratitude. A safe and responsible pint at Rogue Brewing may also be in order.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We have to give a shoutout to our friends at Redivivus in El Segundo, Luke Workman and Erika Guerrero. They have not only been instrumental in helping to design our battery packs at Arcimoto, but they are now pioneering an incredible new battery recycling process to create a true end-of-life solution for our packs. Conventional battery recycling methods typically rely on burning some of the materials, which can be dangerous and harmful to the environment. Instead, Redivivus has developed a new hydrometallurgical process using water that reduces emissions and increases safety for our team. Not to mention that it’s more cost-effective and results in higher purity of recovered materials, reducing mining demand for highly extractive materials like cobalt. Solving global heating is the challenge of our generation, and in the EV industry, we rely on an ecosystem of outstanding partners to help us tackle this incredible problem. Redivivus has stepped up to address one of the most critical—and criticized—aspects of electric vehicle manufacturing: safe and sustainable battery recycling that’s better for the planet. After all, it’s the only one we’ve got.