Canoo Unveils Electric Delivery Van a Week Before Going Public

Francesca Billington

Francesca Billington is a freelance reporter. Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter for dot.LA and has also reported for KCRW, the Santa Monica Daily Press and local publications in New Jersey. She graduated from Princeton in 2019 with a degree in anthropology.

Canoo Unveils Electric Delivery Van a Week Before Going Public

A week before going public, the Los Angeles electric vehicle startup Canoo, valued at $2.4 billion, unveiled the company's second vehicle, a delivery van.

The modular vehicle is the latest entrant in the commercial delivery market, driven by a combination of growing ecommerce and tighter regulations on carbon emissions. Canoo, which has yet to produce a commercial vehicle, expects the vans to be available by 2022, but scaled production is slated for the following year.


There's increasing competition. This summer, California set new rules demanding automakers sell more electric trucks and vans by 2024, jumpstarting a race among legacy car companies like General Motors, Ford and a number of startups to produce vans and trucks for commercial customers like UPS and FedEx.

Canoo's vans come in two sizes and are designed for small businesses and large last-mile delivery companies. Prices start at $33,000. Delivery fleets or major corporations and logistics companies can also custom build their own vehicles since the Canoo relies on "a skateboard platform" like a trailer bed where the engine is held. Interchangeable shells can be created for the body.

Canoo

Photo courtesy of Canoo

Earlier this year, retail giant Amazon debuted its electric van produced by rival Rivian. The Irvine-based company is slated to produce 100,000 delivery trucks over the next decade for Amazon as it seeks to have a carbon neutral footprint by 2040.

Canoo was founded in 2017 by two former BMW executives. They landed a deal with carmaker Hyundai Motor Group in February to manufacture their car. In January, the company opened a waitlist for its futuristic-looking minivan that drivers can book through a subscription service. That vehicle is set to launch by the second quarter of 2022.

Canoo said it's also looking to launch the delivery van across markets like Canada, Mexico and Europe.

Meanwhile, stockholders from Hennessy Capital Acquisition will vote next week to approve the proposed merger. If the deal goes through, Canoo Inc. is slated to be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol "GOEV" between Dec. 21 and 23.

"Since announcing the transaction, Canoo has seen substantial growth in consumer demand and significant interest from potential partners in its proprietary market leading EV platform and underlying technologies," said Daniel Hennessy, CEO of the special acquisition company.

https://twitter.com/frosebillington
francesca@dot.la

Subscribe to our newsletter to catch every headline.

Relativity Space Launches World’s First 3D-Printed Rocket, But Falls Short of Orbit

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College and previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Relativity Space Launches World’s First 3D-Printed Rocket, But Falls Short of Orbit
Photo: Relativity Space

The largest 3D-printed object to ever fly had liftoff yesterday as Long Beach-based Relativity Space launched its Terran 1 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Terran 1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at around 7 p.m. PST March 22. It was Relativity’s third attempt at sending Terran 1 to the cosmos and the nighttime launch was quite a sight to behold. The clarity of the night sky was perfect to see the blue jets of flame cascading out of Terran 1’s nine Aeon 1 engines, all 3D-printed, as the rocket took off.

Read moreShow less
https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la

What Is ‘Embodied Audio?’ And Can It Help Professional Sports Teams Fill Their Stadiums?

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College and previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

What Is ‘Embodied Audio?’ And Can It Help Professional Sports Teams Fill Their Stadiums?
Photo: Edge Sound Research

In 2020, the Minnesota Twins experimented with a new technology that brought fans the ability to physically feel the sounds they were hearing in the stadium in the back of their seats as part of a new immersive way to experience baseball.

The tech was made by Riverside-based startup Edge Sound Research, which built a mobile lounge – basically, a small seating section equipped with its technology and on wheels to travel around the stadium – for Twins fans to experience what it calls “embodied audio” around Target field. It was a bid on the Twins’ part to keep fans more engaged during the game, and Edge Sound Research CEO Valtteri Salomaki said the Twins were impressed.

Read moreShow less
https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la

LA Venture: B Capital’s Howard Morgan on What To Look For in Potential Founders

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Venture: B Capital’s Howard Morgan on What To Look For in Potential Founders
Provided by LAV

On this episode of the LA Venture podcast, B Capital Group General Partner and Chair Howard Morgan discusses his thoughts on early stage investing and the importance of company ownership.


Read moreShow less
RELATEDEDITOR'S PICKS
LA TECH JOBS
interchangeLA
Trending