Canoo continues comeback with over 5,000 EVs orders from Zeeba, over half are binding
SoCal-based EV startup Canoo continues to claw its way out of the pit of near bankruptcy, announcing yet another large commitment of orders for its all-electric Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle (LDV) and Lifestyle Vehicle (LV). Fellow Los Angeles local Zeeba has committed to purchase nearly 5,500 EVs from Canoo, 3,000 of which are part of an initial binding agreement.
Canoo ($GOEV) is an LA-based EV startup founded in 2017 that has taken a few spins on the rollercoaster ride of financial ups and downs that EV startup world often delves out. Although it originally debuted several different EVs to come, Canoo’s immediate focused has honed in on the production of its Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle.
Canoo’s Q1 2022 report, however, posted a $125M net loss and “substantial doubt” the startup could continue. That said, the startup worked to lean out its business, re-adjusting its production strategy while continuing to test its LDV for road certification as it moves its toward scaled production.
Since then, a modified version of the LDV was chosen to transport future astronauts on the Artemis Missions to the launch pad under a contract recently awarded by NASA, and Walmart signed a contract in July to order up to 10,000 LDVs beginning with prioritized deliveries in Q1 of 2023.
Still, Canoo’s Q2 report included another large net loss, leaving the startup with even less financial runway to work with. With over $1 billion is its sales pipeline, however, Canoo continues to fight on with the resources it has remaining, and just may pull it off.
Today, the company has announced its latest customer is Zeeba, who has committed to a slew of EV orders for Canoo’s LDV and LV electric vehicles.
Zeeba orders at least 3,000 Canoo EVs through 2024
Canoo shared details of its latest purchase agreement in a press release today, sharing that Los Angeles-based fleet lease provider Zeeba has signed an agreement to purchase 5,450 EVs.
The binding-terms of the agreement includes 3,000 units committed to be built in the US by Canoo through 2024. Canoo chairman and CEO Tony Aquila spoke to the latest order and what it means for the future of the startup moving forward (spoiler alert: it’s a tad vague for now):
We have a large committed, growing order book, are finalizing our multi-year allocations for 2023 customer deliveries and will share our manufacturing plan with the broader market shortly. This order is another milestone validating our product and strategy. Small & medium sized business (SMB) are the backbone of our communities, employing about half of all working Americans1 and they are Zeeba’s target customers. We put technology first and combined class leading ergonomics, a small vehicle footprint-to-cargo ratio and platform versatility while achieving a lower carbon footprint and higher return on investment for the operator, all of which will help SMBs compete.
Zeeba is working to electrify at least 50% of its fleet vehicles by Q1 of 2024 and hopes its orders from Canoo can help. The fleet solutions company intends to offer Canoo’s LDV and LV EVs to small and medium businesses to alleviate stress brought on by purchasing and managing mobility vehicles – especially EVs which require charging infrastructure.
Thanks to the modularity of Canoo’s designs, Zeeba intends to customize the configurations of the EVs to meet the preferences of its clients, who will use them for everything from last-mile logistics, to ride-hailing, mobile shops, and food deliveries. Zeeba can then repurpose those same vehicles with new configurations when they are returned. Rinse and repeat. Zeeba’s chief strategy officer, Mike Paletz, elaborated:
The LDV & LV are going to be a game changer for businesses we serve. Canoo technology will allow our SMB customers to effectively and efficiently operate their businesses while reducing their carbon footprint. Zeeba has very ambitious electrification goals and we want to achieve leadership in fleet technology.
With the third quarter recently ending, we are sure to hear more about Canoo’s current status, including Zeeba’s orders, initial EV deliveries, and beyond. Check back with Electrek soon.
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China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has unveiled its latest battery cell technologies, which charge as quickly as filling up a gas tank while potentially lowering costs without compromise.
CATL has quickly become the world’s largest battery manufacturer by a wide margin. It is one of, if not the biggest, force for advancing electric transportation.
A big part of CATL’s success is due to its advancements in lithium-iron phosphate battery cells, also known as LFP. LFP cells are cheaper than nickel-rich batteries, but they used to have much lower energy density.
The Chinese battery manufacturers managed to close the gap somewhat while maintaining lower costs, resulting in LFP cells becoming popular for entry-level EVs.
Now, CATL is looking to do the same with sodium-ion batteries.
Like LFP cells, sodium-ion battery cells have the potential to be cheaper than more common Li-ion cells, but they also offer potential for superior performance, particularly in terms of faster charging and longer lifecycles.
CATL has unveiled today Naxtra, its new sodium-ion battery cells, and it claimed some truly impressive specs.
The new cell reportedly achieves an energy density of 175 Wh per kg (385 Wh per lb), on par with the higher-end of LFP battery cells.
The new cells also offer potential for significant safety improvements.
CATL shared several intense stress tests, including drilling into a cell and even cutting it in half without any thermal event:
The next-gen sodium cells could help further lower the cost of electric vehicles without compromising performance, and while increasing safety.
On top of the new Naxtra cell, CATL has also unveiled its next-gen Shenxing LFP battery cells.
Its charge rate is truly impressive. CATL shared several examples of cars charging at around 1,000 kW and maintaining over 500 kW at over 50% state of charge:
The new cell is being described as capable of adding 300 miles (482 km) of range in about 5 minutes – depending on the EV model.
That’s virtually as quick as filling up a tank of gas.
CATL says that the Shenxing will be in 67 electric vehicle models by the end of the year.
The next-gen cell was unveiled after BYD, CATL’s biggest competitor, also unveiled its latest technology, capable of charging electric vehicles at extremely high speeds.
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New York State has announced an extra $30 million for point-of-sale rebates to lease or buy more than 60 new EV models.
The rebates are available to consumers through New York’s Drive Clean Rebate program, which offers a point-of-sale rebate off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of an EV at participating car dealerships in New York State.
The rebate is available in all 62 counties, with the highest rebate of $2,000 available for EVs with a greater-than-200-mile range. (For a 40- to 199-mile range, the rebate is $1,000.) The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) runs the program.
NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “Converting to EVs reduces the total cost of vehicle ownership through lower fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, and NYSERDA is proud to help provide New Yorkers with more purchasing power through these rebates.”
The Drive Clean Rebate program has issued over 190,000 rebates to consumers since 2017, contributing to the more than 280,000 EVs on the road in New York State.
NYSERDA also boosted its EV charging incentives. Through the Charge Ready NY 2.0 program, the state is boosting the cash available for Level 2 charger installations at apartment buildings, workplaces, and hotels from $2,000 to $3,000 per port. And if the chargers go into disadvantaged communities, that amount jumps to $4,000 per port.
New York has racked up over 17,000 public EV chargers, making it second only to California for charger count. On top of that, there are more than 4,000 semi-public stations tucked into workplaces and multifamily buildings across the state.
Read more: New York awards $60M to Revel to install 267 DC fast chargers
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LTL carrier ArcBest Freight (ABF) announced plans to add five new Orange EV electric terminal tractors to its existing ZEV fleet, bringing its total deployment of these battery electric HDEVs to 14 … with even more to come.
LTL stands for “Less than Truck Load,” and basically means that, since whatever you’re shipping won’t take up a full container, you can share the costs of shipping with other customers with goods going the same way. You save a little more money and the shipper makes a little more money, making it a rare win-win scenario in the shipping space. And that’s important, because LTL containers amount to a massive 15% of total US shipping.
ABF has been putting Orange EV yard dogs to work in their LTL traffic terminals since their initial deployment of four trucks in June 2022. The company added five more a few years later, and just purchased five more — further underscoring their confidence in the benefits of transitioning their fleet to electric power.
“The Orange EV terminal trucks meet our operational requirements and expectations for safe, reliable, and affordable service and performance,” explains Matthew Godfrey, ABF Freight president. “We’re committed to responsible environmental management, and our investment in EVs aligns with our continuous efforts to enhance efficiency while maintaining exceptional service standards.”
ABF joins other large logistics companies like YMX and DHL in deploying the Orange EV terminal trucks, which have logged hundreds of thousands of hours of service for their customers.
Electrek’s Take
Over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, we had a chance to talk to Orange EV founder Kurt Neutgens ahead of last year’s ACT Expo for clean trucking. On the show (embedded, above), Kurt explained how his experience at Ford helped inform his design ideology, and that the Orange EV was designed to be cost competitive with diesel options, even without subsidies.
Give it a listen, then let us know what you think of the big yard dogs in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Orange EV; via PR Newswire.
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