Local Motors

What Local Motors does

Local Motors was an American motor vehicle company founded in 2007 by John B. Rogers Jr. in Phoenix, Arizona, that designed and manufactured vehicles using 3D printing (additive manufacturing) and integrated autonomous driving technology into its product lines. The company's core products included the Rally Fighter (2009, open-source off-road vehicle), Strati (2014, claimed as the world's first 3D-printed electric car, printed in 44 hours), LM3D Swim (2015, 3D-printed car with IBM IoT connectivity), and the Olli autonomous electric shuttle family (Olli 1.0 in 2016 with 60-mile range; Olli 2.0 in 2019, 80% 3D-printed, 100-mile range, 25 mph top speed). Production was organized through small-scale, flexible "microfactories" capable of turning around customized vehicles in weeks rather than the multi-year cycles typical of traditional automotive manufacturing, with buyers participating in on-site assembly.

The company's business model centered on direct vehicle sales, licensing of its microfactory production concept, and a go-to-market motion driven by event-based demonstrations at trade shows (including the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago) and earned media through television and film placements. It also pursued institutional shuttle deployments at universities, hospitals, and corporate campuses, and conducted international pilots such as a four-month Olli trial at the ITC-ILO campus in Turin, Italy. Customer engagement was anchored by an open-source co-creation design process drawing input from a worldwide online community of contributors.

Local Motors raised approximately $16.25 million across multiple funding rounds from 2012 through 2021, including a $15M round from Mirai Creation Fund in October 2020 and a corporate investment from GameAbove Mobility (a division of CapStone Holdings Inc.) in May 2021 aimed at scaling Olli production and expanding into the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Despite these efforts, the company was unable to reach self-sustaining commercial scale and ceased operations on January 14, 2022.

Name

Local Motors

Legal name

Local Motors

Website

https://localmotors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Local Motors was a Phoenix-based American motor vehicle company (2007-2022) that manufactured 3D-printed vehicles and autonomous electric shuttles (Olli) via flexible microfactories, serving institutional customers such as universities, hospitals, and corporate campuses through direct sales and pilot deployments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Automotive Manufacturing

NAICS

Motor Vehicle Manufacturing (3361)

SIC

Truck & Bus Bodies (3713)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Vehicle Body Manufacturing (Emergency/Military/Mobile Clinics) (IMACAGAD)

Keywords

• 3D printed vehicles
• Autonomous electric shuttles
• Additive manufacturing automobiles
• Microfactory vehicle production
• Open-source vehicle design

Headquarters

HQ city

Chandler

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Vehicle Sales: Direct sales of manufactured vehicles including the Rally Fighter, Strati, LM3D Swim, and Olli autonomous shuttles to customers.
2. Microfactory Licensing: The company operated microfactories for local vehicle production and potentially licensed this manufacturing model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Local Motors designed, manufactured, and sold vehicles produced largely through 3D printing in small-scale microfactories, including the Rally Fighter off-road vehicle, the Strati (world's first 3D-printed electric car), the LM3D Swim, and the Olli autonomous electric shuttle for low-speed environments. The company operated an open-source co-creation design model with a global contributor community and pursued deployments of autonomous shuttles at universities, hospitals, and corporate campuses across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Product overview

Local Motors was an American automobile manufacturing company that specialized in 3D-printed vehicles and autonomous driving technology. The company operated a portfolio of products including the Rally Fighter (open-source off-road vehicle), Strati (world's first 3D-printed electric car), LM3D Swim (3D-printed car with IoT connectivity), and Olli (autonomous electric shuttle available in 1.0 and 2.0 versions). Production was enabled through innovative microfactories that allowed rapid vehicle turnaround. The company ceased operations on January 14, 2022.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rally Fighter An open-source off-road pre-runner vehicle developed through co-creation design with a worldwide online community, introduced in 2009 after 18 months of development. Buyers assembled their vehicles at Local Motors microfactories with company employees. Featured on Top Gear, Game Changers, and in Transformers: Age of Extinction and The Fate of the Furious.
• Strati The world's first 3D-printed electric car, introduced in 2014 at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. Made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts (excluding battery, electric motor, and tires) and printed in 44 hours.
• LM3D Swim A 3D-printed car debuted in 2015 featuring IBM IoT connectivity technology. Made from 20% carbon fiber and 80% ABS plastic and designed by community member Kevin Lo.
• Olli 1.0 An autonomous, electric-powered, and partly 3D-printed shuttle unveiled in 2016 for low-speed environments such as campuses, hospitals, and universities. Could run for 60 miles on a single charge.
• Olli 2.0 Upgraded version of the Olli autonomous shuttle released in 2019. 80% 3D-printed with 100 miles range on a single charge and top speed of 25 mph. Deployed internationally including at the ITC-ILO campus in Turin, Italy.
• Microfactories Local Motors' small-scale, flexible production facilities that enabled vehicle customization turnaround in weeks, with customers participating in assembly of their vehicles with company employees.

Quantifiable outcome

• Vehicle production turnaround in weeks compared to multiple years for traditional automotive manufacturing
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• EasyMile: EasyMile produces the EZ10 autonomous electric shuttle for low-speed environments such as campuses, airports, and hospitals — a near-identical use case to Local Motors' Olli, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Navya: Navya developed the Autonom autonomous shuttle, deployed at campuses, hospitals, and urban sites globally. It is a direct competitor in the same low-speed autonomous shuttle category as Olli.
• May Mobility: May Mobility operates low-speed autonomous shuttle services on campuses and urban corridors, directly overlapping with Local Motors' target deployment environments and customer profile.
• Optimus Ride: Optimus Ride deployed autonomous electric shuttles in low-speed geofenced environments including campuses and mixed-use developments, sharing Local Motors' institutional shuttle thesis.

Emerging players

• Arrival: Arrival pursued a microfactory-based electric vehicle production model for commercial vans and buses, conceptually aligned with Local Motors' distributed microfactory approach and specialty vehicle focus.
• Canoo: Canoo is an electric vehicle startup that pursued subscription-based mobility and specialty-purpose EVs (including shuttles and delivery vehicles), and is a thematic comparable in the capital-constrained EV startup space that ultimately faced execution challenges similar to Local Motors.

Broad incumbents

• Nuro: Nuro develops autonomous electric vehicles for last-mile goods delivery, representing a broader autonomous mobility incumbent pursuing adjacent low-speed urban use cases beyond Local Motors' passenger shuttle focus.
• Mobileye: Mobileye provides advanced driver-assistance and autonomous driving technology integrated across many vehicle platforms, representing the broader AV technology stack that Local Motors' autonomous Olli relied upon.
• Aptiv: Aptiv is a broad automotive technology supplier with autonomous driving capabilities and vehicle integration expertise, comparable as a large incumbent across the same automotive and mobility value chain.
• Rivian: Rivian is a venture-backed electric vehicle manufacturer building trucks and delivery vans at scale, comparable as a higher-capital alternative path in EV manufacturing that Local Motors' microfactory model sought to disrupt.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/localmotors
• Facebookfacebook.com/localmotors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/local-motors-by-lmi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Local Motors