Uniti raises $730,000 for its crowdfunded electric vehicle

Uniti set a goal to raise 500,000 euros ($553,000) for its three-wheeled electric vehicle. And the company has blown past that figure.

Uniti, which is crowd-funding through FundedByMe, has garnered 660,000 euros ($730,000 US) with 39 days left in its campaign. Uniti has lured 317 people to cut checks for its plan, which makes for an average of about $2,300 per person.

Where Uniti may separate itself from others is its design and features. The car targets "Western European, high-income urban millennials" and looks pretty futuristic, in a sort of 1980s, Tron way. The three-seater, which has received pre-orders from more than 140 people, will also have some autonomous-driving features, though Uniti hasn't detailed many of those. We can tell the company's not cornering the market on modesty, calling its car the "Ingenious EV" and planning to take on established electric models such as the Renault Zoe and Twizy as well as the BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf.

Uniti closely follows the efforts of California-based Sondors, which last year ran an IndieGogo crowd-funding campaign for its electric bike. Sondors is back at it again, taking to StartEngine to raise cash for its own electric vehicle. The three-wheeled model will have a base price of about $10,000 and will be able to go as far as 200 miles on a full charge. Like Uniti, Sondors also appreciates hyperbole, calling its vehicle the "most attractive, affordable electric car ever." Lucrative? Not so much, as the automaker has raised $338,000, or less than half of the amount tallied by Uniti's crowd-funding campaign.