Kenguru wheelchair EV needs $500,000 to finally reach production [w/video]

Remember the Kenguru electric car, the little city EV that was designed with wheelchair users in mind? It was supposed to be available by now, since deliveries were reportedly "imminent" in the middle of 2012. Unfortunately, things haven't worked out quite as they were supposed to, which means that the cars have not started being hand-assembled by Community Cars in Pflugerville, TX.

Stacy Zoern, president of Kenguru, told AutoblogGreen that, the company has not yet started production because of a number of technical and financial hurdles. She didn't give specifics, but said, "There were some technical problems that forced us back to the drawing board. In the meantime, we also needed to raise more money to begin production, which we are still trying to do. As soon as we can raise $500,000, we can press 'go.'"

The Kenguru is a low-speed EV with a big rear hatch entry point (and a ramp) that allows people in wheelchairs to simply roll on in, buckle up and start driving. The car, originally designed by Rehab, Ltd in Hungary, will comply with the Low Speed Vehicle rules set forth by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. That means they are limited to roads with a posted speed limit of 35 or 45 miles per hour, depending on local rules. Last we heard, the $25,000 (estimated price) Kenguru has a top speed of 28 mph, so you wouldn't want to go on a highway anyway. The EV has a range of between 43 and 68 miles. We've got three Kenguru videos, including one featuring President Obama, available below.