- Canoo recordsdata for chapter after dismissing the rest of its workforce within the final two months.
- It was based in 2017 and, at its peak, employed 800 folks, but it surely lived off loans and by no means turned a revenue.
- The corporate will liquidate all its property to repay its money owed and collectors.
Canoo was a type of EV startups that appeared to have a future with a cool product that confirmed loads of promise. Nevertheless, after failing to safe the required capital to remain afloat, the corporate introduced yesterday that it’s submitting for Chapter 7 chapter.
We knew Canoo, based in 2017 and initially known as Evelozcity, was in deep trouble when, in November, it reduce nearly 1 / 4 of its workforce (round 30 staff)—it employed round 800 folks in 2021, so its workforce in 2024 was already significantly diminished. On the time, the corporate stated this was a brief transfer to assist itself stabilize financially, though one of many staff who had been proven the door spoke to the media and stated they didn’t see Canoo “lasting possibly till the top of subsequent yr.”
Nevertheless, one month later, Canoo determined to dismiss its 82 remaining staff, casting additional doubt about its future. Now, it’s the beginning of 2025, and the corporate has issued an announcement asserting its chapter and that it’s going to “stop operations instantly.” It should additionally start liquidation of all its property, and the proceeds will solely go towards paying its collectors and different unpaid payments.
Firm CEO Tony Aquila, additionally one of many essential traders, stated “We want to thank the corporate’s staff for his or her dedication and onerous work. We all know that you just believed in our firm as we did. We’re actually disillusioned that issues turned out as they did. We might additionally prefer to thank NASA, the Division of Protection, america Postal Service (“USPS”), the State of Oklahoma and Walmart for his or her perception in our merchandise and our firm. This implies lots to everybody within the firm.”
Canoo appeared to have a viable product: its skateboard EV platform that would take numerous physique kinds from a low-slung sports activities sedan to a van. This even received Hyundai to wish to group up with the startup to collectively develop an EV platform. In 2020, Hyundai made this partnership official and said it “expects the brand new platform utilizing Canoo’s skateboard structure to permit for a simplified and standardized growth course of, decreasing car value.”
This might have been the deal that saved Canoo afloat, however round one yr later, the partnership appeared useless, and it by no means helped Canoo in any significant approach.
The U.S. Postal Service ordered six Life-style Supply Car 190 vans from Canoo in early 2024 to check their effectiveness as a part of its mail supply fleet. The British postal service, the Royal Mail, additionally started testing two Canoo vans as a part of its fleet with plans to purchase 2,000 models in the event that they efficiently accomplished the trial interval.
Not like many EV startups whose merchandise generally bordered on vaporware, Canoo was an actual firm with an actual product that received plenty of real curiosity. Its plant in Oklahoma Metropolis may reportedly “help as many as 1,100 good-paying manufacturing jobs at full capability,” and it stated it sourced 90% of its components from North America, of which 70% got here from america.
