Imperium Motors or rather Liteborne Motor: but what is going on?
While the automotive industry is currently undergoing major changes, several new players are trying to carve out a place among the big names. Some are successful, while others seem to have more difficulty entering. This is moreover the case of Imperium Motors which now becomes Liteborne Motor Corporation (IMC). Before getting to the heart of the matter, I suggest you do a little backtracking.
The story begins in 2021, when the new company Imperium Motors Canada presents the SEV, also called Skywell ET5 elsewhere in the world. This is a Chinese electric SUV that can be compared in terms of dimensions to a Honda CR-V. Even though it is only offered in front-wheel drive, this vehicle was intended to be a major hit in the electric SUV market with a fairly attractive entry-level price, starting at $37,995. before the application of government rebates. Once the discounts were applied, the price fell below the $30,000 mark for an SUV in a popular format that offered a range of between 300,400 kilometres. It is also possible that you have already had the opportunity to see this SUV at an Electric Vehicle Show. Subsequently, once this vehicle was on the market, the company had to import others, including an electric pickup truck in the format of a Ford Ranger.
The beginning of the problems
Since those big announcements, the sky seems to have darkened for the company. In effect, Imperium Motors Canada has faced a legal problem in recent months. The company, owned by DSG Global, was forced to change its name since the Imperium brand had already been used since 1er
April 2018 by another company that specializes in the sale of electric vehicles and recreational products, in Quebec. Following this court appearance, Imperium Motors Canada had to pay the sum of $25,000 in compensatory damages, plus legal fees to the company, which does business in a few cities in Quebec.
2022, a difficult year full of changes
Following this event, the company was forced to review its image and corporate name. Liteborne Motor Corporation is therefore the new corporate name retained for the company. The SEV will also see its name changed to Aurium SEV at the same time.
In addition to the image change that occurred at the end of 2022, the president who was in office within the company, Christian Dubois, also resigned from his position during the year. Clearly, nothing is going right. It is therefore Alan Wagner who will succeed him as president.
Problems with certification
According to the company, the severe containment in China during the pandemic as well as the various supply problems would have delayed the start of the approval procedures. In addition, information was circulating on the web to know that the first tests carried out were really inconclusive. After several email contact attempts, I finally got my questions answered through the company’s social media. To my question whether Liteborne Motor Corporation had any idea of the new date of arrival of the electric SUV on our market. I was simply told that: “Currently, no news is available on this side, however, the new management team is working hard to complete the homologation, everything will follow thereafter. “.
Moreover, some people who hold a reservation also seem to have difficulty obtaining clear answers to their questions since the last changes, according to many comments observed.
We can therefore conclude that nothing is certain yet for those who have already made a reservation for this vehicle. Initially, future buyers had bet on availability over the following months, without suspecting that this wait would be counted rather in years because of the many pitfalls that the company has had to face since the first announcements. Currently, many customers who have made a reservation are beginning to lose patience with the lack of answers and the uncertainty that hangs over the arrival of this vehicle on the market. This is therefore a matter to be monitored over the coming months.
