Three weeks before Oregon electric vehicle manufacturer Arcimoto removed company founder Mark Frohnmayer as CEO, Eugene police arrested Frohnmayer on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Officers cited Frohnmayer in downtown Eugene at 10:09 p.m. on July 15, according to Melinda McLaughlin, the a spokesperson for the Eugene Police Department. She said Frohnmayer was driving a three-wheeled motorcycle, similar to the vehicles made by Arcimoto, but she couldn’t say for sure if it was one of the company’s models.
Police observed that Frohnmayer “appeared intoxicated” when stepping off the motorcycle, McLaughlin said. She said he complied with officers’ instructions.
Police declined to release any results of intoxication tests, saying state law prevents disclosing additional detail before the case has been adjudicated. Frohnmayer has a hearing scheduled for Aug. 22 in Eugene Municipal Court.
“The company as a blanket policy makes no comment on personal matters of employees,” said Frohnmayer, who continues to serve as Arcimoto’s chairman. He said some facts are in dispute in the July 15 incident, including whether he was actually driving the vehicle.
“I make no comment on a case that is under adjudication,” Frohnmayer said. He declined to say whether the incident played a role in Arcimoto’s decision to remove him as CEO.
“I am presently on a very well needed vacation,” Frohnmayer said.
Eugene-based Arcimoto announced Friday that it had removed Frohnmayer as CEO, replacing him with company executive Jesse Fittipaldi. Arcimoto said Frohnmayer, 48, is now the company’s “chief vision officer.”
Arcimoto didn’t disclose the reason for the abrupt change, but in a regulatory filing the company said it had actually removed Frohnmayer from the CEO role a week earlier. Frohnmayer is the company’s largest shareholder, with about 20% of its stock.
Frohnmayer’s father is former Oregon attorney general and University of Oregon president David Frohnmayer, who died in 2015.
Arcimoto pitches its three-wheeled electric “Fun Utility Vehicle” as a fun, environmentally friendly alternative to internal combustion autos. Its vehicles start at about $18,000 apiece, and the company sold 24 of them in the first three months of the year.
In recent months, though, Arcimoto has strained against supply chain shortages and appears to be facing increasing financial pressure. It had $5.2 million in cash on hand at the end of March, down from nearly $17 million at the end of last year.
Shares in Arcimoto, which trades on the Nasdaq Global Market exchange, have plunged from a high of $36 last year to $3.24 on Friday morning.
This article has been updated with comment from Mark Frohnmayer.
-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |
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