Uniti Sweden, the maker of the 100% electric, autonomous-ready city car Uniti One, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on UK-based platform Crowdcube. This is a unique opportunity for investors to contribute to the success of a company called the “Tesla for megacities” by Business Insider.
The company surpassed its initial goal of raising £1,000,000 from more than 1500 investors from 65 countries and has elected to extend the campaign to offer additional investors a chance to “own part of the solution.”
The timing of the campaign correlates with a surge in interest for market-based solutions to deal with the challenges of global climate change. As Sir David Attenborough noted recently at the UN climate talks in Katowice, Poland, “if we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.” Core to Uniti’s sustainable model is to provide reductions in traffic congestion, urban pollution and carbon emissions while adding investment and jobs to the local UK economy.
“Uniti is designed to dramatically disrupt the existing vehicle ownership model, accelerate the transition to clean transport, and help countries meet Paris climate targets with stronger economic growth,” said Uniti Chairman, Dr. Michael Molitor.
The aim of the current crowdfunding effort is to help accelerate Uniti’s market entry into the UK, where they plan to launch their 2-seat electric car in 2020. In October, the company announced its intent to establish a pilot production plant within the UK’s Silverstone Technology Cluster and has already shifted much of its electric vehicle R&D to the region. Funds raised will go toward supporting this ongoing vehicle development by the engineering team in Northamptonshire.
While the company boasts the support of key global partners such as Siemens and E.On, Uniti has found that raising a portion of its capital needs via crowdfunding to be an excellent match to its community-driven brand DNA. “I decided to make an investment in Uniti because I found something very compelling in the young, passionate team behind the company,” said former Qlik CEO Lars Björk, an early investor in the company. “They’re disrupting an established industry and being bold can really make disruption successful.”
“It’s always great to see innovative businesses, like Uniti, who have ambitious plans, a strong purpose and environmental impact seeking investment on our platform,” said Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube.