When Russian billionaire Michael Prokhorov announced he’d begin building advanced CNG hybrids in Russia, we were skeptical. We became believers in the little Yo Mobiles, however, once the first cars made their debut as runners and the company, called Yo Auto, announced that they’d taken deposits on thousands of their pre-production cars- despite not a single production-ready car having been built (sound familiar?).
Despite so much promise and so much genuinely intriguing technology at play, it seems like Prokhorov has given up on Yo Auto after selling the company’s assets to Russian government-controlled NAMI institute for just 1 Euro. “(Since 2010, the) parameters of the project have changed, its cost could reach up to 450 million euro”, says Valery Senko- the director of Prokhorov’s ONEXIM investment group. “While some hundred million Euros had been already spent on research.”
The low-emission hybrid Yo Mobile models were set to begin production this year, and expected to reach customers early in 2015. No word yet on what will become of any customer deposits that were taken, or on the fate of Yo Auto’s advanced crossover concept (shown, above).
So- yeah. That sucks. What do you guys think? Are there any companies out there that you hope succeed, but that you know have the odds stacked against them? Let us know who they are in the comments, below. Enjoy!
Source | Photos: RT.
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