The start-up had originally agreed to supply EV platforms to Hyundai, but that never got off the ground
- EV automaker Canoo has closed its doors and filed for liquidation
- The company was founded in 2017 by two former BMW execs
- Despite orders from NASA and Walmart, Canoo’s vans never went into full production
It’s extremely difficult to build a car company from scratch, and the latest to prove that is Canoo — which is now up the creek without a paddle. The electric-vehicle (EV) company, which recently moved its headquarters from California to Texas, closed its doors for good in mid-January. This followed an announcement last December that it had idled its factories in Oklahoma and laid off 82 employees while it tried to secure new funding.
Canoo filed voluntarily under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which liquidates the company’s assets and distributes the proceeds to its creditors. It estimates its assets at US$126 million, but it owes more than US$164 million to its creditors.
The original founders eventually left. Businessman and investor Tony Aquila invested significantly in Canoo in 2020 — “rescue capital,” actually, to keep it afloat. The auto company went public later that year, and Aquila became its CEO.
Other deals that fell apart included a collaborative research centre with the University of Wisconsin; and an agreement for a Dutch company to build Canoo’s vehicles until it could build its own factory. It eventually built its own facility for vehicles and batteries in Oklahoma City.
Canoo’s original estimates were that it’d produce 3,000 to 6,000 vehicles in 2022; at least 14,000 in 2023; and make more than 40,000 vehicles in 2024. It doesn’t look like more than a dozen vehicles were ever actually produced, even though the U.S. Army evaluated Canoo vehicles for possible use as light tactical vehicles; and three transport vans were delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for moving crews around the facility. Canoo said it also delivered vehicles to the U.S. Postal Service.
In a press release, Canoo said that “despite being American-made” and “successfully delivering” to NASA and others, it had been unable to secure financing from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office, and that discussions with foreign investors were unsuccessful.
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