Mullen Automotive acquires ELMS inventory, manufacturing plant, and IP in all-cash purchase
Mullen Automotive has absorbed yet another fellow EV start-up. Today’s acquisition includes Electric Last Mile Solutions, or ELMS, which filed for bankruptcy in June. Mullen received court approval last week to acquire ELMS’s Indiana manufacturing facility, its inventory of EVs, and all its intellectual property.
Mullen Automotive ($MULN) is a Southern California-based EV start-up founded in 2014 that has set out to deliver affordable EVs built entirely on US soil. Although the company has yet to deliver an EV to the market, it came close twice. First, it tried to bring the fabled Coda EV back from the dead, then struck a deal with Qiantu in China to try to bring the assembly of the Dragonfly K50 to the US.
Following a merger in 2020, Mullen pivoted its strategy once again and honed its focus onto its own ground-up EV model – the FIVE crossover SUV. The start-up surprised us yet again by shifting its production sights elsewhere, claiming a majority stake in Bollinger Motors this past September. It vowed to get Bollinger’s ill-fated B1 and B2 electric trucks into production using some of the cash from its acquisition purchase.
Just over a month later, Mullen Automotive announced an investment in another EV start-up, acquiring Electric Last Mile Solutions and all of its assets, including a large production facility.
Mullen approved for all-cash purchase of ELMS’s business
The EV startup shared that it was approved by the US Bankruptcy Court on October 13 as a Chapter 7 transaction, which includes ELMS’s former production facility in Mishawaka, Indiana. Here is the list of assets acquired in the ELMS purchase:
- All intellectual property (IP).
- All inventory, including vehicles (finished and unfinished), finished goods, part modules component parts, raw materials, tooling (including but not limited to product-specific tooling), and all manufacturing data that is required or reasonably helpful for the assembly of the Class 1 Electric commercial delivery vans and Class 3 Commercial Delivery Cab Chassis.
- Real property located in Mishawaka, Indiana, together with all buildings, improvements, and fixtures.
- All tangible personal property, including equipment, machinery, furniture, supplies, computer hardware, data networks, servers (with data and software), communication equipment, software, discs, and all other data storage media.
With the acquisition, Mullen Automotive procures a production footprint with the capability to produce up to 50,000 vehicles per year. The start-up stated that the acquisition of said factory will allow it to accelerate production of the Mullen FIVE and Bollinger B1 and B2 EVs by 12 months.
Mullen currently operates a facility in Tunica, Missouri, which will now become the company’s commercial manufacturing center, responsible for producing Mullen and Bollinger Class 1 to 6 commercial vehicles. Subsequently, FIVE production will move from Tunica to the newly acquired facility in Indiana. Mullen chairman and CEO David Michery spoke to the cash purchase:
Mullen’s acquisition of Bollinger was one of the largest transactions of its kind in the EV market. Upon closing the ELMS transaction, the company will be in a position to strategically leverage all its acquired assets to shorten its production path and aggressively expand into the commercial and consumer EV market.
Mullen Automotive did not share the purchase price of ELMS in its recent press release, but the start-up reportedly offered over $93 million in cash and other considerations, according to previous court documents. The start-up claims to have access to $275 million to close the ELMS acquisition based upon its cash on hand and “funding commitments” of up to $240 million.
Mullen intends to launch Class 1 to 3 commercial delivery EVs in 2023, followed by the start of FIVE production in 2024.
Electrek’s take
It’s interesting to see Mullen Automotive acquire yet another start-up that couldn’t make it over the scaled production hump. The newly acquired facility could certainly help the start-up answer its own call to destiny in becoming a legitimate automaker, but they still don’t pass the sniff test here at Electrek.
We’d love to be proven wrong. We are by no means rooting against Mullen Automotive. The FIVE and FIVE RS look very cool, but this company remains a mere start-up with some prototypes until it actually starts delivering viable EVs to customers.
Why spend all this money purchasing other technologies from companies instead of using those funds to build your own passenger EVs as planned? Makes you wonder. We totally understand the entry into last-mile and commercial Evs – that segment is absolutely booming. But why now, before successfully scaling a vehicle of its own?
Hopefully, Mullen hasn’t spread itself too thin here financially, especially on the wings of “funding commitments” that make up a large majority of its available funds. Again, rooting for them, but this is definitely a “show, don’t tell” situation.
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BMW Motorrad’s futuristic electric scooter just got its first real refresh since beginning production in 2021. The BMW CE 04, already one of the most capable and stylish electric maxi-scooters on the market, now gets a set of upgraded trim options, new aesthetic touches, and a more robust list of features that aim to make this urban commuter even more appealing to riders looking for serious electric performance on two wheels.
The BMW CE 04 has always stood out for its sci-fi styling and high-performance drivetrain. It’s built on a mid-mounted liquid-cooled motor that puts out 31 kW (42 hp) and 62 Nm of torque. That’s enough to rocket the scooter from 0 to 50 km/h (31 mph) in just 2.6 seconds – quite fast for anything with a step-through frame.
The top speed is electronically limited to 120 km/h (75 mph), making it perfectly capable for city riding and fast enough to hold its own on highway stretches. Range is rated at 130 km (81 miles) on the WMTC cycle, thanks to the 8.9 kWh battery pack tucked low in the frame.
But while the core performance hasn’t changed, BMW’s 2025 update focuses on refining the package and giving riders more options to tailor the scooter to their taste. The new CE 04 is available in three trims: Basic, Avantgarde, and Exclusive.
The Basic trim keeps things clean and classic with a Lightwhite paint scheme and a clear windshield. It’s subtle, sleek, and very much in line with the CE 04’s clean-lined aesthetic. The Avantgarde model adds a splash of color with a Gravity Blue main body and bright São Paulo Yellow accents, along with a dark windshield and a laser-engraved rim. The top-shelf Exclusive trim is where things get fancy, with a premium Spacesilver metallic paint job, upgraded wind protection, heated grips, a luxury embroidered seat, and its own unique engraved rim treatment.
There are also a few new tech upgrades baked into the options list. Riders can now spec a 6.9 kW quick charger that reduces the 0–80% charge time to just 45 minutes (down from nearly 4 hours with the standard 2.3 kW onboard charger). Tire pressure monitoring, a center stand, and BMW’s “Headlight Pro” adaptive lighting system are also available as add-ons, along with an emergency eCall system and Dynamic Traction Control.
BMW has kept the core riding components in place: a steel-tube chassis, 15-inch wheels, Bosch ABS (with optional ABS Pro), and the impressive 10.25” TFT display with integrated navigation and smartphone connectivity. The under-seat storage still swallows a full-face helmet, and the long, low frame design means the scooter looks like something out of Blade Runner but rides like a luxury commuter.
With these updates, BMW seems to be further cementing the CE 04’s role at the high end of the electric scooter market. It’s not cheap, starting around €12,000 in Europe and around US $12,500 in the US, with prices going up from there depending on configuration. However, the maxi-scooter delivers real motorcycle-grade performance in a package that’s easier to live with for daily riders.
Electrek’s Take
I believe that the CE 04’s biggest strength has always been that it’s not trying to be a toy or a gimmick. It’s a real vehicle. Sure, it’s futuristic and funky looking, but it delivers on its promises. And in a market that’s still surprisingly sparse when it comes to premium electric scooters, BMW has had the lane mostly to itself. That may not last forever, though. LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric spin-off brand, has teased plans for a maxi-scooter-style urban electric vehicle in the coming years, but as of now, it remains something of an undefined future plan.
Meanwhile, BMW is delivering not just a concept bike but a mature, well-equipped, and ready-to-ride electric scooter that keeps improving. For riders who want something faster and more capable than a Class 3 e-bike but aren’t ready to jump to a full-size electric motorcycle, the CE 04 hits a sweet spot. It delivers the performance and capability of a commuter e-motorcycle, yet with the approachability of a scooter. And with these new trims and upgrades, it’s doing it with even more style.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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