Canoo, based in California, announced on Thursday its plans to use VDL Nedcar in the Netherlands as a contract manufacturing partner. More importantly, perhaps, in an event that covered a lot about the company’s commercial model and planned products, it addressed the current state of its highly evolved commercial model.
Nedcar has already been working with Canoo on manufacturing capability and product planning and will oversee the production of the fully electric vehicle as a production facility is established in Oklahoma for the U.S. and Europe.
Nedcar, currently building the Mini Countryman under contract in the Netherlands, will oversee what Canoo calls Phase 1 production, targeting 1,000 vehicles in 2022. Meanwhile, the electric vehicle manufacturer will build its own Phase 2 factory in Oklahoma, where Nedcar will continue as the production partner, with a goal of around 15,000 vehicles per year.
Canoo provided some background on the abrupt shift in its business strategy that had been hinted at for months. The company states that logistical challenges are too capital-intensive. A subscription model would take longer to scale and reach a smaller customer base. And perhaps most importantly, such a model limits consumer incentives for electric vehicles, especially considering the potentially ongoing higher electric vehicle tax credit.
The technical design of the vehicles has not changed. Canoo claims to have the industry’s first steer-by-wire system for vehicles, including wire steering, and designs that offer rear-wheel, front-wheel, and all-wheel drive. Each propulsion unit is expected to produce around 350 horsepower, and the battery modules, using 2170-format cylindrical cells, are structurally integrated rather than housed within another box. CTO Pete Savagian, recently vice president of Faraday Future, pointed out that the flexibility is there to substitute the 4680 format that Tesla is improving.
Canoo has unveiled a complete line of vehicles, including a delivery van, which recently went public as part of a SPAC and described an entire direct-to-consumer vision.
Over the next year, Canoo plans to build 120 to 150 vehicles for validation purposes, with 70 crash tests and 30 sled tests.
As Lordstown Motors recently demonstrated, even after what is considered a successful initial public offering, there are still many things that might not go according to plan. However, Canoo’s electric vehicles are expected to arrive as an eye-catching addition to the American vehicle fleet.
