Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Electric van maker Canoo said Tuesday it is expanding its operations to the United Kingdom aiming to leverage local expertise while strengthening its commercial operations.
The company has selected Bicester Motion as its first location in the European Continent allowing customers to start test driving its right-hand drive commercial electric vans later this year.
In the same area, there is a community of more than 50 automotive brands including the Shanghai-based EV maker Nio.
At Bicester Motion, the company will have a customer and activation center to serve its “commercial efforts across the UK and Europe” as the brand’s activation center is planned to open in October.
Tony Aquila, the chief executive, highlighted the UK’s “high-potential market that provides incentives including the plug-in van grant (PIVG)”.
“Six months ago, we debuted our right-hand drive vehicle, the USPS’ LDV 190 and also our LDV 130, and hosted and attended numerous fleet shows and customer test drives on tracks to establish ourselves as an American partner in the region,” Aquila added.
In the UK, according to their Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, 80 per cent of new vehicles and 70 per cent of new vans sold must be zero-emission by 2030, increasing to 100 per cent by 2035.
Citing the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Canoo said that the UK “saw 17 consecutive months of growth in the LCV market” with “the small van market has been particularly strong in 2024, with demand up 42 per cent year-to-date”.
Last month, Ehtridge 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.
Besides the UK, the company led by Tony Aquila is also eyeing the Middle East region following its partnership with Red Sea Global. Last April, Canoo announced that Red Sea Global would pilot its Lifestyle Vehicle (LV), Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle (LDV) 190, and the Bulldog pickup truck.
“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 they allow the company to start “building relationships with the largest fleets in these markets”.
Earlier this month, Canoo said it withdrew its guidance for revenue, manufacturing run rates, as well as the production and delivery of vehicles for 2024 and subsequent periods.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
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