Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
After starting pilot programs with NASA, Walmart, USPS and some other potential customers in the United States, Canoo has been adding the UK and the Middle East markets to its roadmap.
Greg Ehtridge, the chief financial officer of the electric vehicle (EV) startup, revealed in a webinar that the company expects “to have vehicles” in the UK and “pilot with them by the end of the year”.
“We’ve been able to enter into two very respectable and supportive markets, the UK and Saudi Arabia,” the CFO stated before saying that Canno is focused on large commercial fleets such as USPS and Walmart.
“Now, remember, we’re not selling to consumers. We’re selling to large, sophisticated government and commercial fleets. The sales cycle is long,” Ethridge stated.
The chief financial officer, who joined the manufacturer a year ago, mentioned three reasons that made Canoo to explore these two markets.
Never Miss an Update on Canoo
“One [of the reasons for Canoo to focus on the UK and Saudi Arabia markets] is they’re very supportive areas. Two, our product is a perfect fit for both markets. Three, we get additional test data,” he explained.
Ethridge detailed that the pilots do not require a big investment while they allow the company to start “building relationship with the largest fleets in these markets”.
“And as you think about us rolling out and building out our pipeline and turning this into a global business, it takes time. So we can put a little bit of time and a little bit of money into maturing these markets, getting pilots underway, building those relationships with the largest fleets in these markets,” the CFO said.
“And then over time, we’ll be able to solidify and expand production and manufacturing after we get to the import phase. But first, you have to you have to ink the relationships with those customers and create a win-win opportunity. And that’s what we’ve been focused on,” he added.
Focusing on the UK market, Canoo’s CFO said the company has already met a majority of the biggest fleets in the region adding the feedback has been positive.
“We’ve been meeting with several, eight out of the ten top fleets in the United Kingdom. We’ve had very positive feedback. We expect to have vehicles and pilot with them by the end of the year,” Ethridge stated.
“As I mentioned, from both supportive government policy, but also from a mandated perspective over there by 2030 and 2035, respectively, 70 to 100 percent of new cargo sales must be BEV. And there really is not a great alternative in the U.K. market right now other than imports from China. So that’s something that we’ve just been very focused on and making sure we’re creating additional opportunities for those key customers over in that market,” he concluded.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Never Miss an Update on Canoo
The post Canoo to Start Pilot Programs in the UK By the Year End, CFO Says first appeared on EV.