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.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.
Thanks to Trump’s repeated executive order attacks on US clean energy policy, nearly $8 billion in investments and 16 new large-scale factories and other projects were cancelled, closed, or downsized in Q1 2025.
The $7.9 billion in investments withdrawn since January are more than three times the total investments cancelled over the previous 30 months, according to nonpartisan policy group E2’s latest Clean Economy Works monthly update.
However, companies continue to invest in the US renewable sector. Businesses in March announced 10 projects worth more than $1.6 billion for new solar, EV, and grid and transmission equipment factories across six states. That includes Tesla’s plan to invest $200 million in a battery factory near Houston that’s expected to create at least 1,500 new jobs. Combined, the projects are expected to create at least 5,000 new permanent jobs if completed.
Michael Timberlake of E2 said, “Clean energy companies still want to invest in America, but uncertainty over Trump administration policies and the future of critical clean energy tax credits are taking a clear toll. If this self-inflicted and unnecessary market uncertainty continues, we’ll almost certainly see more projects paused, more construction halted, and more job opportunities disappear.”
March’s 10 new projects bring the overall number of major clean energy projects tracked by E2 to 390 across 42 states and Puerto Rico. Companies have said they plan to invest more than $133 billion in these projects and hire 122,000 permanent workers.
Since Congress passed federal clean energy tax credits in August 2022, 34 clean energy projects have been cancelled, downsized, or shut down altogether, wiping out more than 15,000 jobs and scrapping $10 billion in planned investment, according to E2 and Atlas Public Policy.
However, in just the first three months of 2025, after Trump started rolling back clean energy policies, 13 projects were scrapped or scaled back, totaling more than $5 billion. That includes Bosch pulling the plug on its $200 million hydrogen fuel cell plant in South Carolina and Freyr Battery canceling its $2.5 billion battery factory in Georgia.
Republican-led districts have reaped the biggest rewards from Biden’s clean energy tax credits, but they’re also taking the biggest hits under Trump. So far, more than $6 billion in projects and over 10,000 jobs have been wiped out in GOP districts alone.
And the stakes are high. Through March, Republican districts have claimed 62% of all clean energy project announcements, 71% of the jobs, and a staggering 83% of the total investment.
A full map and list of announcements can be seen on E2’s website here. E2 says it will incorporate cancellation data in the coming weeks.
Read more: FREYR kills plans to build a $2.6 billion battery factory in Georgia
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla has reportedly delayed the launch of its new “affordable EV,” which is believed to be a stripped-down Model Y, in the United States.
Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a pivotal decision that altered the automaker’s direction for the next few years.
The CEO canceled Tesla’s plan to build a cheaper new “$25,000 vehicle” on its next-generation “unboxed” vehicle platform to focus solely on the Robotaxi, utilizing the latest technology, and instead, Tesla plans to build more affordable EVs, though more expensive than previously announced, on its existing Model Y platform.
Musk has believed that Tesla is on the verge of solving self-driving technology for the last few years, and because of that, he believes that a $25,000 EV wouldn’t make sense, as self-driving ride-hailing fleets would take over the lower end of the car market.
However, he has been consistently wrong about Tesla solving self-driving, which he first said would happen in 2019.
In the meantime, Tesla’s sales have been decreasing and the automaker had to throttle down production at all its manufacturing facilities.
That’s why, instead of building new, more affordable EVs on new production lines, Musk decided to greenlight new vehicles built on the same production lines as Model 3 and Model Y – increasing the utilization rate of its existing manufacturing lines.
Those vehicles have been described as “stripped-down Model Ys” with fewer features and cheaper materials, which Tesla said would launch in “the first half of 2025.”
Reuters is now reporting that Tesla is seeing a delay of “at least months” in launching the first new “lower-cost Model Y” in the US:
Tesla has promised affordable vehicles beginning in the first half of the year, offering a potential boost to flagging sales. Global production of the lower-cost Model Y, internally codenamed E41, is expected to begin in the United States, the sources said, but it would be at least months later than Tesla’s public plan, they added, offering a range of revised targets from the third quarter to early next year.
Along with the delay, the report also claims that Tesla aims to produce 250,000 units of the new model in the US by 2026. This would match Tesla’s currently reduced production capacity at Gigafactory Texas and Fremont factory.
The report follows other recent reports coming from China that also claimed Tesla’s new “affordable EVs” are “stripped-down Model Ys.”
The Chinese report references the new version of the Model 3 that Tesla launched in Mexico last year. It’s a regular Model 3, but Tesla removed some features, like the second-row screen, ambient lighting strip, and it uses fabric interior material rather than Tesla’s usual vegan leather.
The new Reuters report also said that Tesla planned to follow the stripped-down Model Y with a similar Model 3.
In China, the new vehicle was expected to come in the second half of 2025, and Tesla was waiting to see the impact of the updated Model Y, which launched earlier this year.
Electrek’s Take
These reports lend weight to what we have been saying for a year now: Tesla’s “more affordable EVs” will essentially be stripped-down versions of the Model Y and Model 3.
While they will enable Tesla to utilize its currently underutilized factories more efficiently, they will also cannibalize its existing Model 3 and Y lineup and significantly reduce its already dwindling gross margins.
I think Musk will sell the move as being good in the long term because it will allow Tesla to deploy more vehicles, which will later generate more revenue through the purchase of the “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) package.
However, that has been his argument for years, and it has yet to pan out as FSD still requires driver supervision and likely will for years to come, resulting in an extremely low take-rate for the $8,000 package.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
Podcast: how Elon killed Tesla Model 2, global EV sales surge, and Chinese EVs keep killing it
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss how Elon Musk killed Tesla Model 2, global EV sales surging, how Chinese EVs keep killing it, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway