EV start-up Canoo launched its electric pickup on March 11, 2021.
Kanoo
Shares in electric vehicle launch Canoo jumped as much as 14% during intraday trading on Thursday after the carmaker outlined plans for a new bubbling pickup.
The unnamed vehicle has a rounded, pre-cut front end with similar lighting and design elements as an electric van that the company announced last year. Canoo said it designed the pickup ‘to be the most front-wheel-drive and space-efficient on the market, with an enormous load capacity with the smallest footprint possible.’ The car website Jalopnik compared the design to a retro Volkswagen bakkie or bakkie from the 1950s.
Canoo, which was acquired in December through a reverse merger with Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. has become known, is the latest company announcing plans for an electric pickup.
General Motors, Tesla, Rivian and Lordstown Motors are expected to start producing electric pickups later this year, followed by Ford Motor in 2022. Canoo wants to bring its pickup to market as early as 2023.
Canoo wants to bring its electric bakkie to market in 2023, but the production details have not been announced.
Kanoo
Several of the products were delayed due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and other circumstances. Tesla CEO Eles Musk said in response to the company’s latest earnings call: “So, we’ve almost finished all of Cybertruck’s engineering.” He added: “If we are lucky, we will be able to make some deliveries by the end of this year. But I expect production to be in 2022.”
Despite the amount of expected entries, EV pickups are a completely unproven vehicle segment. But old-fashioned automakers like GM and Ford, which are heavily dependent on pickups for profit, are trying to defend their leading market shares against newer, all-electric companies.
EV start-up Canoo launched its electric pickup on March 11, 2021.
Kanoo
While Canoo’s pickup is strikingly different from its bubbly design, the announced range is 200 miles lower than other competitors. GM’s Hummer EV pickup will reach more than 350 miles, while Tesla said its Cybertruck will range from 250 miles to more than 500 miles.
Canoo’s first vehicles are expected to be electric consumer and delivery vans by 2022. The company has not announced specific plans for production, but has a strategic relationship with car supplier and contract manufacturer Magna International.
– CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.