Atlantic Station’s retail refresh now includes the first showroom for a company that bills itself as “revolutionary” in offering a variety of vehicles for getting around a city without burning gasoline.
Pennsylvania-based Derek Automotive Technologies has opened its first “Experience Center” in a 3,000-square-foot space at 232 19th Street.
Company founder Derek Bailey says Atlantic Station’s centralized location—and access to a diverse customer base—was key in deciding where to locate Derek Automotive’s first brick-and-mortar. The company prides itself on being the industry’s first minority-owned EV builder, with vehicles it says are priced to be attainable by the masses.
“Atlantic Station upholds similar core values with its inclusive and supportive atmosphere,” Bailey noted in an announcement.
Courtesy of Derek Automotive
The showroom features the Avani Pure SUV, Derek Automotive’s fully electric model, alongside e-scooters and bikes. Purchases made at the Atlantic Station space by December will be delivered directly to consumers next May, the company says.
The company’s foldable e-scooters start at $1,397. Reps tells Urbanize Atlanta that available vehicles cost $60,000.
Starr Cumming, Atlantic Station’s director of specialty leasing, said signing a “cutting-edge brand breaking into the electric vehicle industry” continues the mixed-use district’s goals of “becoming a central hub for technology and innovation, with the world’s top tech firms right at our doorstep.”
Courtesy of Derek Automotive
Derek Automotive is also developing a gas-to-electric hybrid model called “Proteus”—capable of traveling about 3,000 miles on 10 gallons of fuel, per the company—that’s scheduled to be available in late 2022.
According to Bailey, the company is also in discussions with Georgia state officials to identify land for warehouse facilities to assemble vehicles and ports for distributing them.
• Photos: 16 years later, how Atlantic Station continues to change (Urbanize Atlanta)
