American Canoo, once ‘saviour’ of VDL Nedcar, now bankrupt itself

Yet another EV startup that has to throw in the towel: American ‘lifestyle’ EV-maker Canoo. Once hopefully mentioned as the potential savior of Dutch VDL Nedcar in Born, it announced last week it had filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code and stopped all activities on the fly.

While Dutch contract builder VDL Nedcar desperately sought new clients in 2021 to fill the gap BMW’s MINI would leave at the end of the contract, the plan was to assemble the Lifestyle EV of Californian start-up Canoo for Europe and the US starting in Q4 of 2022. But in December, all hope for the Dutch employees vanished.

Fewer risks in the US

Canoo CEO Tony Aquila preferred to keep production in America and blew up the deal, saying there were fewer risks in the field of the COVID-19 pandemic, shipment logistics, and taxes there, with Arkansas and Oklahoma offering support for new factories.

Now, Canoo itself bites the dust. In a press release, the young company blames the US Government for not getting a new loan and points at fruitless attempts to secure foreign capital investment.

Despite being American-made

“Despite being American-made, successfully delivering to such esteemed organizations as NASA, the Department of Defense (DOD), The United States Postal Service (USPS), the State of Oklahoma, and having agreements with Walmart and others, Canoo has unfortunately been unable to secure financial support from the US.Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Program Office.”

“Recently, the company’s executives were in discussions with foreign sources of capital. In light of the fact that these efforts were unsuccessful, the Board has made the difficult decision to file for insolvency.”

“As a result of this filing, Canoo regrets informing all stakeholders that operations will cease effective immediately. A court appointed trustee will manage the liquidation of the company’s assets.”

Tony Aquila, himself one of the biggest investors in the company, said, “We would like to thank the company’s employees for their dedication and hard work. We know that you believed in our company as we did. We are truly disappointed that things turned out as they did.” He also thanked DED, USPS, Oklahoma, and Walmart for the trust they showed, which unfortunately wasn’t sufficient to survive.

Stayin in the Netherlands until 2028?

It’s a pity for the relatively unique product the company wanted to sell worldwide. The Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle is a 4,4 m long minibus-like vehicle that looks almost identical from the front and the rear.

It can seat up to seven people in surprisingly dynamic configurations. It has a round backbench and a table, and the steering wheel can slide from left to right. It has a 300 hp motor and a range of 250 miles (400 km) with its 80kWh battery pack.

VDL Nedcar will start assembling 1,000 vehicles a year in Born near the Belgian border in Q4 of 2022, ramping production to 15,000 by 2023. According to VDL, Canoo production would stay in the Netherlands for at least up to 2028. It was not to be.

In 2021, Canoo employed around 800 people, but its workforce was already considerably diminished by 2024. In November 2024, it had to fire another quarter (30 people) of its staff in a desperate attempt to keep its head above water.

Apart from the Lifestyle Car which was intended intially to be built in Born, Canoo has also a pickup and multi-purpose delivery van in the pipeline /Canoo

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