San Francisco, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- A small car, shaped like an ATV, the model named "Swimming", about 75 percent made of 3D printing, is scheduled to accept reservations in spring 2016.

The United States local auto company announced during an auto industry show in Las Vegas, Nevada, that the company is intensively testing and developing the car, and is building a "micro factory" in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the production of the car. The factory is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015, and the vehicles are expected to be delivered in early 2017.

Last year, at the same exhibition, a local car company printed on site, claiming to have made the world's first 3D printed car.

Within a year, with the so-called "direct digital manufacturing" technology, 80% ABS engineering plastic and 20% carbon fiber as materials, the body and chassis of the "swim" were almost all formed by printing, from the determination of the model design to the prototype prototype took two months.

This year's show, with a red prototype as the exhibit, chief executive Jay Rogers declared, "Direct digital manufacturing technology has allowed us to create new cars at a speed unprecedented in the automotive industry."

The local car company envisions keeping the product as single as possible, so that about 90 percent of the car will eventually be printed. When it comes to market, the Swim will be customizable by buyers, but it will be limited to the exterior of the vehicle.

Testing of the vehicle, including crash tests, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. As for the pre-sale price of the Swim, the company set it at $53,000; A deposit is required for pre-orders, and retail sales are expected to begin in late 2016.

Describing the price tag as "pricey" and comparable to some luxury subcompact cars, the local car company explained that the "Swim" would be a vehicle that is fully certified by US federal government regulators, can operate on highways and is no less safe than any existing conventional vehicle.

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